May The Road
by WordDemon
Summary: Sasha Kelly, a man, a lover, an Incubus. But like every hunter before him, he has to start somewhere. Set in Crimson1's Incuverse. Prequel to 'Incubus'
1. Prologue, Chapter 1: Boredom

_Prologue  
Chapter 1: Boredom  
_

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It was a Wednesday and like most Wednesdays, three boys found themselves skipping class and heading home. Course it wasn't exactly a mandatory class, especially since not one of them planned to go on to be a roads scholar. At age fifteen their minds were less focused on the works of F Scott Fitzgerald or the poems of Edgar Allen Poe and more focused on their eventual blossoming of libidos. Of course TV was at the forefront of their mind right now as their piled through the front door in comic fashion, the three bodies collided in the door frame and voice soon followed.

"Jesus, Lindsey lose some frickin weight will ya." One voice joked lyrically.

A gruff reply, "Bite me."

"Don't mind if I do."

"Guys," The third boy cut in, "seriously we are gonna miss the opening."

"Fine" The red head and the blond replied.

When all three of the boys had slipped into the living room and flopped onto the couch in well memorized position, it looked like some twisted up attempt at Technicolor. The first boys, hair was as red as the crayola crayon and eye's hypnotic blue. The second boy, Lindsey, hair was so bleached white that it shone with its own light; he was stockier then the other boys but really only had baby fat left. The final boy was the tamest of the trio, olive skin and brown hair with eyes to match. There was an indignant sound followed by the scrambling of hands and whispering of voices. The trio had begun to search through the room for something, and then with a sigh, all three flopped back into place.

The redhead spoke, "Aw come on Cam where did your mom hide the remote?

"How the hell should I know Sasha," Cam, the brown haired boy sighed, "she keeps it under lock and key after you and Lindsey locked it on the porn."

"Come on you can't blame this on us." Sasha's lips pouted and his eye grew wide.

Lindsey chuckled, "Come on Cam, you know you can't resist little Sasha's puppy-dog eyes."

"The hell I can't!"

In an instant, the lithe body of Sasha had turned in its seat and found itself straddling Cam's denim covered hips. Cam's breath hitched slightly at how fast the larger boy had moved and he could smell Sasha in the air that he had replaced. Their noses and foreheads touched, electric blue pouring down into golden brown and Cam could feel the redhead's breath on his lips. The line of Sasha's mouth pulled open into a grin and with one shift flick of the tongue, he licked the side of the tanner boys face.

"Dude that is so gross." Cam cried, wiping his face with the back of his hand.

Sasha, still straddling his friend's hips, laughed. "One man's gross is another man's kink."

"Well that's more then we need to know Sash," Lindsey's voice broke the conversation, "but since we can't watch the TV I got an idea."

"What?" Both the other boys said, neither attempting to change positions.

"Well its October 31st isn't it?" Lindsey smiled, "Halloween."

"So?"

"Well the girls were talking about sneaking off to the human plain. I was thinking we could go with them."

"But we don't have any costumes, what would we do just walk around?" Cam muttered, finally wiggling out from under Sasha.

"No idiot, we are costumes, we just drop the glamour and walk around and get candy."

"Ah so you want candy." Both Sasha and Cam grinned darkly at the blond.

"I hate you both."

"Anyway, how are we supposed to get there," Sasha asked as he stretched, shirt revealing the beginnings of his markings, "and when are we meeting the girls."

"In an hour and we'll take the portal just like when we snuck to the movies."

Cam snorted, "So Sasha flirts his ass off while we pop through?"

"Basically."

"Why me," Sasha growled in a playfully threatening manner.

"Cause you have pheromones that could knock someone out if you really wanted." Cam replied shoving the redhead lightly in the chest. When he pulled his hand back his faked smelling it and waved it to demonstrate the potency. Sasha lunged for his smaller friend tackling him off the couch and onto the floor, a heavy thump echoing through the room. A handful of smacks and punches were thrown, eventually Cam ended up sitting on Sasha's stomach in victory.

"So are we going?"

"I guess so." Sasha said, while Cam shrugged in indifference.

"Awesome! I told Charis I would get you guys to come!" Lindsey grinned completely ignorant of the pair of eyes rolling behind his back.

---

The portal to the human plain was one of those cumbersome things that had been designed when the earth was young and had never been altered since then. Where most of the world has grown and updated itself like the human world, the gate stood as a defining piece of the past; it was made of two pieces of solid stone, one black and one white, twisting toward each other but staying a foot apart. A shimmering haze fell between the two stones and on the other side was a street that shouldn't be there. That was the human world, the gate was normally controlled the combined thoughts of its users to direct them to approximately their destination.

The trio of boys walked towards the gate, silently watching for the rest of their companions as well at for where the guards were off too. Sasha nearly fell over when two people pounced on him, there was a mix of chuckling and snickering as the only thing redhead could take in was the different shoes. A moment later, five sets of hands helped lift the fallen incubus up to his feet and dusted him off. Pout squarely in place the red head spoke.

"That wasn't funny, Epica."

The blonde that had jumped him growled and pouted, "I'm Attoinette, Sasha!"

"Atty," Charis' voice fringing the line between friendly and motherly, "Sasha was just kidding, weren't you Sasha."

"Oh, I mean, of course I was kidding Atty." Sasha stressed the name, "How could I possibly confuse you."

Satisfied, the blond returned to her usual bubbly mood and bounded forward towards the gate, Charis and Lindsey in perfect tow. Looking for help, Sasha turned towards his friend; Cam simply shook his head, mop of brown hair spinning and patted him on the back before following the rest of the group. It was Epica who had stop and gave him a look that said one word, that word was 'smooth'. She then cuffed the red haired boy upside his head and pushed him towards the guards.

For a moment, Sasha thanked whatever was in charge of the fates that it wasn't the same blond guard at the post as last time. These two were both men of at least five centeries, both much taller then average, with a length of purple hair that must had been nearly impossible to hide with any glamour. Hooking his thumbs into his belt loops, Sasha pulled his waist lower and let his pheromones go. The red head barely paid attention to what he was actually saying; instead his eyes were glued on his friends all vanishing through the gate.

"If you'll excuse me," Sasha smirked coyly, "if you wait right here I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Okay." Both men's voices sounded lost in a fog.

Extremely proud of himself, Sasha quickly slipped through the gate, his mind on his group of friends. Unfortunately his mind flicked for a second to the pair that had pounced on him and in the next moment he found himself on top of Charis and Attoinette. This time the scoffs of the friends were full fledged as both girls screamed and attempted to claw at the slender red head. As they all managed to separate, the laughed died down as they took in their surroundings. Apparently, the gate had dropped them down right in the middle of a suburban culdesac; pumpkins and the bitter air of autumn let them know they were in the right place, Suburbia.

"I guess it time for the costumes." Cam muttered and drifted off towards a side yard.

Sasha peeled off his shirt, knowing that it was going to be doomed when he was to drop his glamour. His wings were the first thing to spring free, black and leathery; Sasha hissed as his nerves registered the cold that assaulted them. His hands shifted next, darkening and lengthening into the murderous looking talons. The redhead wise enough to keep his horns short and eyes blue, Sasha rejoined his friends to find that they had each taken a similar approach to the dropping of their glamour. The motley crew of incubi began to climb the street, trash bags in hand. Lindsey was leading the way towards the houses; he had kept his shirt on, self conscious of the small ring of baby fat that clung to him. Sasha looked at his friends, a grin plastered almost painfully on his face for the next two hours. Even as they began to slow down and their bags of sweets began to groan, the group joked and laughed at the silliness of some of the costumes as they walked up to another house.

The door swung open and the group roared happily, "Trick or Treat!"

"Trick." The female voice said coldly.

The woman stood against the doorway, raven colored hair cascading like a wave of ink across her back. She was dressed in an orange sweater, cut tight and form fitting, and a short black skirt. Her deep blue eyes stood out from her china-doll skin and gave her an air of the divine. Her index finger tapped the back of her other hand and she looked down at the group of fifteen year olds. Suddenly it dawned on Sasha who it was that had opened the door.

"Hello Shi."

Her voice was cool, "Hello Sasha."

"We are in trouble arn't we?" Cam's voice rose from the back of the pack.

"Yes, yes you are."

"Crap."

With a touch of her hand, the entire group was hearth back into their plain and the angry faces of the parents. Sasha knew that even though Shi wasn't talking to him right now, his punishment wasn't going to be quite as severe. The redhead hopped that his friends would at least be smart enough not to spread the blame around and get them all in more trouble then they really needed to be. As Sasha followed his aunt, he overheard Lindsey's attempt at a gruff-sounding voice complaining that Shiarra's hearth spell has left their hard earned candy in the human plain. He could swear he saw Shi smile as she heard the complaint as well.

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_A/N: Hope this is up to par with Crimson's work. The plan is for this to prequel Sasha's life before the Winchesters. Read & Review!_

_-WordDemon_


	2. Chapter 2: Conversation

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Chapter 2: Conversation  
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A week and a half, ten days of being grounded, that was Sasha's punishment for helping everyone sneak to the human plain. The girls of course only got punished for a single week, while the rest of the boys would still be grounded another four days themselves. That was one of the great things about aunt Shi, Sasha mused to himself, she always balanced his punishment with everyone else's. Sitting on a stool in the kitchen, the redhead poked his eggs with his fork and the yoke ran across the plate. A knock at the door, broke Sasha from his musings and he stumbled from the kitchen to the front door; breakfast still in hand. Swinging the front door open wide, three blindingly bright smiles met his own as he took in the trio on his front step.

"Really Sasha you know you shouldn't show food to guests unless you plan on sharing." Epica grinned, dressed in a purple blouse and black jeans.

Shrugging, he led his friends into the kitchen, "I don't know maybe Aunt Shi will make pancakes."

"Pancakes?" Atty's voice bubbled.

Charis joined in, "with Chocolate chips?"

"Why don't you ask instead of just assuming?" A voice wafted out of the kitchen.

When the group entered, they found the elder succubus dressed in a drastically different fashion then when she has caught them in the human world. Instead of sweaters and skirts, she was in a baggy t-shirt and sweat pants. Her hair has been pulled away from her face and into a pony tail, a few choice strands framing her face. She was currently mixing a bowl of batter as the group of young ones settled onto the stools. With a quick turn of the bag, little diamonds of chocolate plopped into the batter and were mixed in. Shiarra smiled at them as she began to pour the pancakes onto the skillet.

"So girls, you are looking lovely today." She smiled

"Thank you Ms. Shiarra." The girls said in unison

"Please I've told you call me Shi, otherwise I feel so old." The woman laughed and flipped the pancakes. "So are you excited for the change? What about you Charismatic, I bet you and Lindsay can't wait for it."

"Um…well." Charis blushed.

The echo of a trio of laughs bounced around the kitchen as poor Charis' face darkened to a shade redder then Sasha's hair. Burying her head under her arms, the blush quickly moved to the tips of her ears and left her burning with embarrassment. Realizing her mistake, Shiarra shot a look around the room that silence every laugh still caught in their throats and even seemed to make the walls swallow the echoes. When the silence filled the room completely, the auburn haired succubus lifted her head from the counter and smiled at the plate of pancakes that were stacked in front of her. The group sighed as the warm pancakes were quickly devoured; satisfied the group dropped there plates into the sink and walked to the back yard.

"So how's does it feel to be a free man?" Appy giggled locking arms with Sasha.

"You know Shi, as long as I was home she didn't really seem to mind."

Charis rolled her eyes, "That really so isn't fair, you're the one who distracted the guards!"

"I know, wasn't it awesome." Sasha's grin stretched into a full blown smile.

Epica cuffed the pair of redheads lightly on the back of the head, "Can we not talk about punishment, I mean it is over with anyway, so what's the point."

"True"

Atty looked at her sister, "So what do you wanna talk about then?"

"I know," Charis echoed the core of Shi question, "have you guys given any thought to you know, after the change?"

The young ones settled down onto the shaggy lawn that made up Sasha's back yard, the early sun not quiet burning in the sky. But even this early in the day, amidst the poorly manicured lawn, a light coating of sweat broke out on all of them which meant that it was only going to get hotter. Crossing there legs in Indian style, the group all looked at each other with faces that were a mix of curiosity and apprehension. It was the twins that broke the silence first.

"We both figured." Eppy and Atty grinned, "We would get out into the world, finally be our own woman."

Sasha chuckled and began to tickle the blondes' sides. "So no more little girls? No more dressing up? No matching outfits, that's gonna be a shame."

"Whatever Sash, your just jealous do don't have anyone to color coordinate with."

The red-haired male faked injury and turned to his female counterpart, "What about you, what are your plans?"

Charis' face scrunched up as she painted her mental picture, "Well I figured I start with a trip around the globe, you know Paris, Rome, Florance and a bunch of other. See the world and its romantic hotspots."

"Sounds more like honeymoon plans then post-change plans." Epica's lips twisted into a playful smirk.

Another fit of laughter to rival the one in the kitchen burst free, this time instead of embarrassment Charis howled right along with the others. She knew her idea of plans were really flighty and bubbly, but she figured if there was going to be any places for a budding new succubus to sink her teeth easily it would be cities over flowing with love. So she explained to her three friends and all of them looked really sullen, full of understanding. Atty and Eppy echoed each other explaining on how they hadn't thought about it that way, even Sasha with drew his previous scoffs.

"Well," Charis concluded, "It better then Cam's idea."

Sasha's ears perked up and his head twisted up softly, "Oh and what idea is that?"

"Ask him yourself, you know he can't resist your puppy dog eyes."

"Its true." The twins echoed in chorus.

Conversation turned towards Sasha's abilities to get nearly everyone to do what he wanted just by flashing them his big baby blues. Quickly the girls shifted to comparing the red head's other ability of persuasion or dissuasion; his pheromones. The debate began to stack out about which would be more effective tools to lure a person to sleep with him, Charis and Epica seemed to think that his pheromone would be more likely to get any person to sleep with him. However, Atty rushed to his defense saying that no one could possibly resist those eyes; that he didn't need anything but those to make someone's guard melt. Eventually the conversation turned to other topics and after sometime had passed ever one of these stomachs growled for attention, laughing like loons the foursome made there way back to the kitchen for lunch.

---

It was slightly over a week later and Sasha found himself lounging on top of a bed, a warm grilled cheese in his hand. His eyes scooping around Lindsey's bed room, he was surrounded by Cam and the aforementioned blonde incubus. They had both been let off of their punishments later then any of them had been expecting but it wasn't long after they were released that they heard about the girls conversations. So a few days later as the air finally dropped from its Indian summer heat to the bite of winter air, the boys gathered at Lindsey's house. Thankfully, Sasha managed to avoid the gaze of his friend's guardian; the man held control over the counsel and he seemed wrapped in a cloud of fear that made all submit to him.

"So," Lindsey started with a bark, "spill it, what did you ladies talk about?"

Sasha made an indigent noise and attempted to flip his short hair; his arms crossing over his chest. They had been at this for atleast a half an hour now, the guys would grill him and the redhead would rebuff them. He wasn't trying to be difficult but watching Lindsey squirm was just too much fun to not drag out as long as he could. Slowly Sasha's smirk spread into a sly smile and he finally relented about the topic. The future, after, what it could hold and what they planed on doing with themselves; a topic the boys seemed to enjoy.

"So what did the twins say?" Cam asked

"Split up and go there separate ways."

"Figures," Lindsey said softly, "and what bout Charis?"

The redhead grinned and waggled his eyebrows, "A round the world feeding frenzy in all of the passion hot spots."

Laughter split down the sides of all three boys, even Lindsey couldn't help but laughing at the idea of pulling off that kind of trip. Tears stung the boys eyes as their laughter hit the four minute mark and finally their chuckles faded to contented sighs. Cam turned to his friend and spoke with a bit of humor.

"So what about you Sash? What did you say?

Sasha paused, it hadn't occurred to him that he hadn't answered it when he had spoken with the girls, "Well, I was thinking of getting into the family business."

"Oh awesome!" Cam's face lit up, "You gonna learn to cook like your aunt?"

"No Cam, I'm thinking more like my dad."

Lindsey looked at the redhead, "But Sash, can you even play an instrument? I mean I seen you pick at your dad's old guitar but."

"I can play just fine thanks." Sasha cut off his friend; he had been practicing and teaching himself for months, much to Shiarra's dismay. "So what about you guys? Thought up any plans?"

Cam's lips tugged at the corners, "High School, defiantly."

"You're kidding," The redhead could hid his shock, "you wouldn't really subject yourself to that could you."

"Just you wait, I'll do it," Cam chuckled

"Why do you even want to go to high school, Cam?" Lindsey asked, his voice strained and confused, "We already know all that stuff. Well all the important things anyway."

"But it's real human high school we're talking about here, Lin," Cam replied running a hand though his brown hair, "What better way to meet people our age, man, Junior and Senior year when everyone's having so much sex, it will be like a buffet"

"I don't think everyone has sex in high school, Cam. In fact, I'm pretty sure a lot don't." Sasha teased as he disappeared completely on the other side of the bed, after a moment bare feet and the tattered ends of faded jeans rose up from around the bed as Sasha did a handstand.

Cam immediately reached and pushed Sasha over. "Kill joy,"

"You just wanna go to high school to meet your dream girl," Sasha teased clambering on top of the bed, "Sorry dude, but Buffy is a fictional character. There is no sexy slayer chick waiting for you in California. Trust me, if there was, she'd probably try to kill you anyway."

"Sash, I so wouldn't want Buffy," Cam gasped and looked greatly injured, "Seriously, have you seen the rack on Cordelia?"

"Cordelia?" Lindsey repeated, his tongue tasting the name like it was sour, his hands behind his head, "Why would you want her Cam? She's like the uber-bitch. Why go after her when you could have Willow, who's pretty and nice and smart."

"There's a surprise," Cam jumped in smirking wildly, "Lin likes the smart, sweet redhead, well the natural looking redhead,"

The bronzed incubus had added with last bit, not even trying to be slick and he grinned at his crayon colored friend. Sasha swats at him but Cam leaned out of the way. Meanwhile, Lindsey had sat up quickly after hearing Cam's not so subtle accusation, and launched on the offensive. Which only made Cam and Sasha shared a look of equal grins and then busted out into fresh scoffing laughing.

"What the hell, I can't like Willow because she's smart, sweet, and a redhead?"

"Dude, really come on, we're not that stupid," Sasha chuckled his voice slightly tender, "You and Charis have pretty much been engaged since we were ten. I think it's great. I mean, most of our parents were how old when they found each other, ancient? And you guys haven't even hit the change yet and you're in love."

Lindsey's otherwise pale face flushed with color and he stuttered. "I…I'm not in love with Charis, you weirdo. She's like my sister."

"Ha! Right. Eppy and Atty are like sisters," Cam chimed in and fanned himself dramatically, "Charismatic is your waking wet dream and you know it. Girl like must give you such a case of the vapors."

Lindsey immediately grabbed the stray pillow from the floor and chucked it at Cam's head, smacking him clean in the face. The impact had caused him to knock his head lightly against the wall but he continued to laugh. A red color began to work up into the incubus' cheeks as he couldn't stop the horrid, mocking laugh from coming through. He clapped his hands over his mouth but still they poured out, each one seemed to cut slightly into the stark blond boy.

"Shut up!" Lindsey warned, eyes glowing brightly.

"Well I don't know about you two," Sasha said, speaking loudly to be sure he caught his friend's attention. Lindsey as usual, took the bait and moved to join the others on the bed. It was a natural transition that occurred almost every argument, Sasha's was the diffuser of tension and he played that role pretty well. "But I'd take Angel over the lot of the Buffy girls any day. I've never seen a more _'come fuck me'_ stare than that one and ya gotta love a guy who looks good in leather."

Cam grinned and pulled himself closer toward Sasha again, "Kinky."

"You wouldn't want to be with Xander?" Lindsey asked humor back in his voice, "I thought you liked the smartass guys."

Sasha leaned over and rested his head on Cam's shoulder. "I do. I just get enough of that kind of guy in real life sometimes."

"Aww, Sasha, I thought we had something special," Cam pouted before lunging at the red head making sloppy kissy noises.

"Ew dude, get away from me," His pale hand pushing back on Cam's tan face in an instant. Sasha was giggling and through them he continued "Now, if you could find someway to take Angel and Xander and combine them into one person then I'd be hooked, a sexy smartass."

Their conversation continued on the sexual aspects of fictional characters for a good two hours, Lindsey mostly being left out anytime that they approached a male character. They ran through TV shows, movies and had even begun to go into books as the sun set the sky on fire. Through out the whole time, Sasha was dimly aware of the proximity that Cam was closing. Where the brown haired boy had started on the other side of the bed, both boys now found themselves in the middle nearly on top of each other. Cam reached out and brushed a strand or two of Sasha's crayola hair away from his ear, finger lingering on the pale boy's skin. From below the trio, the front door swung open and heavy footsteps announced the return of Lindsey's grandfather.

"Lindsey!" The man's grave voice echoed from the first floor, "I need you and the boys to come down here now."

The blonde scurries out of the room faster then most would assume he could, he size often made his sparing partners assume he was slow; a mistake he made them pay for. Sasha rolled off the bed and made his way towards the door when he felt something tug at his wrist. When he looked down, tan fingers gripped his skin and held him firmly in place. Cam gave the redhead a look that attempted to mimic Sasha's puppy dog eyes and he whispered softly.

"Sash, can you wait a minute with me."

"Sure Cam what's up?"

"I wanted to give you something." Cam's fingers dug nervously into his pocket and pulls out a necklace, "I had one of the older guys get it for me while I was grounded."

Hanging from a simple chain was what looked like a coil of rope that had been twisted into a knot, four lumps like a clover. Sliding his finger over the knot, Sash felt its metallic quality and grinned at the way the sliver shined in the bedrooms light. The young redhead recognized the Celtic nature of the knot only because of the few items that aunt Shi had which had belonged to his father, Deklin. When Sasha looked back up in his friend's eyes the redhead was surprised to see so much worry marring his face. Smiling softly, Sasha tried his best to calm down his friend.

"It's amazing Cam, I love it."

The bronze incubus flinched subtlety, "It's a Celtic love knot, Sash, and they are made in pairs."

"Really?" Sasha cocked his head, "What happened to the other one?"

Just as he finished speaking, a pair of lips crashed on to his and Sasha fell back onto the bed. The lithe redhead froze his body unfamiliar with the closeness of his friend, with the smack of his Cam's slightly chapped lips and the urgent noise that begged for reciprocation. Almost on autopilot, Sasha's mouth reacted for him by parting his lips and returning the kiss deeper; as hands began to tentatively ghost over each other Sasha stepped back into himself. He was kissing his best friend, his best friend was kissing him and they were both on cloud nine for the first time in their lives. Both boy's sighed into each other mouths and could have stayed like that for eternity, lips locked with someone who got them on so many levels. An aggravated shout from Lindsey broke their refrain and in a moment Cam was off the bed and at the door.

Turning slightly, Sasha was able to see the knot's twin around his best friends tanned neck. It suddenly occurred to the redhead that somehow in their encounter, Cam had managed to get the other necklace around the pale boy neck. The bronze colored incubus grinned wide enough to cause the top of his head to fall always from his jaw and then slipped out the door. Sasha sat their for a moment, left hand drifting up and running through his hair; it then moved, touching his lips softly before settling on the necklace. A smirk bloomed on his lips as his fingers traced the endless pattern of the knot. Now Lindsey wasn't the only one who couldn't wait for the change for reason other then sexual conquest.

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_A/N: For those who dont know, the title comes from an irish blessing. It to represent the journey i thought that was fitting. Please Read & Review!_

_-WordDemon_


	3. Chapter 3: Prophecy of a Fool

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Chapter 3: Foolish Developments  
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It had been a few days since Cam had pounced on top Sasha in Lindsey's empty and for the most part both boys were still acting as if nothing had occurred. At least that's how Sasha was trying to make himself appear on the surface, inside however, he was a continual mess of emotions. Every time Cam would get close to him he would feel heat begin to burn up from his ears. Every time the redhead changed or took a shower his fingers traced the knot that hung solidly around his neck, the knot placed and unfamiliar but comforting weight around his collarbone. As far as he was concern, none besides them knew of the secret exchange or the gift and it needed to stay that way or else both himself and Cam could get in trouble for breaking the counsel rules. None of there kind was suppose to exchange tokens of affection until after the change, for fear that they would discourage the multitude of initial feeding that would build there strength.

Sasha laid sprawled out in bed, his pajama bottoms hanging low on his hips, his mind drifting through lazy thought. The little incubus knew something was different, he could feel it in his skin; it was as if he was a water balloon and Cam had turned on the facet. He felt tight and as if he was going to split is skin, but somehow being near Cam did make it better. From what they were told, Sasha was aware that this feeling had something to do with the change but this was early.

As the red haired incubus rolled over uncomfortable on his familiar bed and tried to fall asleep. Time slowed to a crawl as the sweet relief of dreams wouldn't come to embrace him and then he heard it; a peaking noise at his window, light but obvious. Padding barefoot across his bed room, Sasha drew back the curtain and looked out the window. There staring him straight in the as the bronze skinned boy that had been occupying his mind, the grin plastered on his face reflected the pale white moon.

"Cam what the heck are you doing?" Sasha whispered as he opened the window.

The boy pulled his friend in close, "I couldn't sleep so I figured I'd go flying. Want to join me?"

Cam lips were so close to Sasha's that the redhead couldn't help but shutter softly, he wrapped his arms around his friends tan neck and asked for help. In a few moments, Cam had helped pull Sasha through the window and both boys wrapped there arms around each other more to prevent Sasha from crashing down to earth then any romantic intentions. Sasha however did take this closeness as an opportunity to really look at his friend. His great leathery wings seems less threatening then Sasha's, even his talons lacked the same visual power of the black ones that adorned Sasha's incubus form. One thing that did draw the redhead's eyes more strongly was Cam's markings, where his own spread over his hips like a pair of briefs, the shorter incubus' marking trailed upward like a treasure trail across the flat of his stomach. Without thinking, Sasha ran his fingers down the golden path marked in Cam's flesh and elicited a moan from his friend.

"Sasha" Cam's voice mewed softly.

A flash of red and the glamour fell away, leaving the boys identically dressed; just their markings and necklaces between to warm bodies. The air around each incubus quickly gathered weight as their body heat made the air glisten with steam. Cam smirked, fangs showing from underneath his lip, and flew up into the sky. Sasha couldn't help himself but roar playfully as he chased after his friend, as the bare backside of the bronze incubus vanished into the light of the moon. Pounding harder and rising higher, Sasha hissed at the feel of the colder air on his wings it was a mix of pleasure and pain. Suddenly, the redhead found himself tackled and plummeting down to earth, Cam's body wrapped around his waist a grin planted firmly on his face.

"CAM!" Sasha screamed his own voice sounding alien to him.

Eyes sparkling in the darkness Cam whispered, "Then you gotta stop me, Sash."

Swinging as much of his weight as he could the redhead began to rock them back and forth, aware that the longer it took the more quickly the ground would be rushing toward them both. Finally Sasha was able to get his foot in between himself and Cam, he felt the ball of his press into the smaller incubus's obvious hipbone. Pushing roughly Sasha managed to finally separate just about ten feet from the ground itself. Floating just barely out of Sasha reach, the bronze boy's smile grew wider as he crossed his arms; although Cam was the smallest of the boys there was a subtle strength that most would miss on first glance. He was built more like a gymnast, taunt powerful muscle that accentuated his grace unlike Lindsey's bulky size with screamed of power and nobility. Sasha eyes followed the twist of the smaller boy's waist, hipbones and markings caught highlights from the moon. Then all of a sudden Sasha found himself dragging Cam out of the sky, lips locked with the other, instead of crashing, the pair were almost cradled, into the ground. Sasha claiming his well-earned position of straddling his friend's waist, he could feel it again, the swell and he figured out was it was; it was desire.

Both the boys returned to a more human form as they caught their breath. With matching grins, fingers traced over each others body; tan hands tracing from the collarbone to the hips of the white torso and pale hands making the opposite journey across bronze skin. Again the simple touches that he laid into Cam allowed him to pry loose a series of cry like a kitten looking for its mother. Every time that Sasha's nail grazed one of his friend's hip bones, he felt the smaller boy's hips shift and buck of their own accord. Leaning forward, Sasha placed a deep kiss on Cam's prone mouth before the boy could react though; the red haired incubus has placed his lips along the jaw line. Quickly the lips and tongue moved across Cam's neck and torso leaving the ghosts of marks; a wave of pleasure rolled off of Cam like a white hot flare. The sudden burst made both boys freeze in place, with Sahsa's lips still pressed against the bronze boy's lowest rib.

They had just fed from each other.

They were in trouble.

***

"This, children is the last lesson I will ever teach you."

The voice came out smooth and sweet like pouring a maple syrup from the bottle, it was the kind of voice that captured a person's attention and made them want to listen. It was the voice of a teacher, one of the teachers, those in charge of instructing the children in the ways of their kin. The teachers would be instructors on a rotating basis, so that every seven years they would be a teacher again. Like every group before, the six teenagers were never told there teachers name and would only refer to him as teacher. The man that they called their teacher was a tall, dark-skinned man with strong but kind features like he was carved from a singular trunk of dark mahogany. He was dressed in a long green tunic and black pants at seemed to shimmer from their own light, his bare toes grinding into the carpet; he seemed like he would be more at home in a zuit suit then what he had on now.

"So are you all ready to begin?"

"Yes teacher." The group replied, dressed in the same silky black pants as the teacher.

Sasha's eyes darted around the room, scanning over each of his friends but his gaze couldn't help but linger on the way Cam's brown shirt clung around his lithe torso. In fact for most of the shirts were fairly complementary to their bodies, unfortunately Lindsey's was obviously a hand-me-down because it hung too loosely across his chest and too tightly around his stomach; embarrassing the already flustered blonde. Sasha straightened his eyes and posture when teacher walked near him, it wasn't that Sasha feared reprimand but that was the kind of respect they had all learned to give. Teacher stopped in front of the redhead and tapped on his shoulder, finger burying into blue cloth.

"Kelly." His voice rolled, "Do you remember what I told you all about locking on in a fight."

"Yes teacher."

"Would you repeat it for me?"

"When we find ourselves in a conflict," Sasha paused softly and continued, "or even in regular activity, we must make sure not too over use our strength. We need it so that we may blend as effectually as possible in the human world."

Teacher nodded a smile plastered to his face and ruffled he boy's hair, "That is mostly correct, but today I'm going to teach you the other half of locking on to a person. That portion is feeding, used correctly you will maximize the energy you get and prevent any accidental death. Unlike matching a person's strength, feeding isn't so much about listening to your body and adjusting as it is about hold you power back. When you feed your body will try and trick you into going past a threshold. This threshold is known as the edge of pleasure, your body will try to make you go beyond that point; it will tell you that the orgasm is beyond that place but it is a lie. When you wait patiently at the edge of pleasure you will get the full force of the climax and it will be a reward for controlling your self. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes teacher!"

"Good," the dark-skinned man continued, "When you at sequestered away for your change you will be able to feed freely on each other. Because as kin we naturally will flow energy between each other as we feed. However, I will hope that even as hungry as you all will be, that you take the time to obey and practice keeping yourselves from crossing over the edge."

"What happens if we cross the edge of pleasure?" Lindsey blurted out, ignoring the giggles from the girls.

Teacher leaned in close, his indigo eyes flashing, "Don't."

"But what if we do?!"

"Well, if you somehow find yourself crossing the edge of pleasure you will have maybe a window of one minute to break off from the human you are feeding from. After that window closes you will continue to feed until there isn't much left but a dried out, cold body. So as I said before, don't cross the threshold."

The group nodded vigorously, the idea of hurting someone seemed to send a shiver down every one of their spines. Love and the act of love, they had been taught, was pure and to kill someone in it was considered a huge catastrophe. This was something that they all knew that there were consequences for this kind of offense both in the case of the offending party and the victim. They were quickly distracted from their thoughts as teacher paired them off randomly and told them to fight, to keep their energy in sync with each other. When all of them had locked on to each others, teacher would swing them to new partners or change who had to lock on to who. Quickly the strain began to make it self evident on the faces of everyone of them, sweat making their clothes stick to them.

"Kelly!" Teacher shouted and threw Cam at him.

The bronze boy managed to land and balanced himself on one bare foot, shooting a look that both told Sasha to bring it as well as giving away his exhaustion. Reaching to his far hip, Cam stripped off his shirt and Sasha couldn't help but follow the markings he had memorized down to his friends waist band. In the midst of gawking, Sasha found Cam's fist crushing against his jaw. Stumbling backwards, Sasha focus and saw that Cam had been faking; holding his energy low so that he could distract him. And it had worked, the redhead cursed himself mentally, why had he been so stupid. Okay he had a blooming libido to deal with but still, he couldn't believe he had fallen for that. With a roar the redhead launched himself full force at Cam, tackling him to the ground and nearly dashing he friends skull on the rocks. Apparently though Cam had been expecting that and used both his legs to launch the large incubus into the air.

"Very good, you two have synced perfectly!" Teacher clapped his hands on their shoulders.

In letting themselves go completely, after the first punch was thrown, Sasha and Cam had tapped into each other's core. Neither had noticed the link while they were fighting it out but as the adrenaline left Sasha's body he could feel something, a second pulse made of emotion, strength and a heartbeat. That was Cam, stripped away with no body, the mix of love and humor with his diminished strength; his heart pounding like a metronome. Sasha blinked and Cam was replaced by two hands waving in front of his face, it was the twins, apparently he had been off in his own world.

"Earth to Sasha, come in Sasha can you hear us?" Atty giggled trying to sound like she was over a CB radio.

"Come on Red." Epica bucked Sasha shoulder lightly, "Dad is gonna take us all out and human side after we shower."

Sasha's voice was hazy, "Okay, I'm coming."

The shower was anything to be called special, a singular round tiled room with a little over twenty showerheads. It smelled of sweat, hot water and soap; Sasha had to admit to himself there was something nice about the smell of a body caught between dirty and clean. But today, the redhead turned towards the tile walls and kept his head down. It wasn't what they naturally did, their kind was never shy about intimacy or nakedness but Sasha kept his body and gaze fixed on to wall. He didn't want anyone, especially the twins, to pick up on what he was feeling. It took sasha moment to register the lack of other shower sounds andby the time he did a pair of wet, tan arms slipped around his torso.

"Are you mad at me?" Cam whispered into the space between Sasha's shoulder blades.

"No."

He could feel his friend's lips on his back markings, "But the way you acted when we were sparring and ignoring everyone in the shower."

Sasha reached down and grabbed Cam's arms, spinning his friend around and slamming him into the warm, wet tile. The force that the boy hit caused a small yelp of pain and fear to slip from between Cam's lips. The redhead couldn't help but smirk, he knew his eyes must have shifted and his fangs had to be out; he didn't want to admit it but there was something damn attractive about the way Cam shuttered under his gaze. Letting out a soft purr, the redhaired teen pressed himself against the smaller boy, lips crashing into each other. Hungry, Sasha was careful to not allow his fangs to even leave a scratch on Cam as he tasted his way from the bronze boy's mouth to his collar bone and back again. When Cam finally let free a soft moan Sasha released his hold and went to get dressed, five minutes later he was in tow with the group.

"Sash what took ya so long?" Atty laughed.

"Had to do my hair."

Epica shoved her sister out of the way, "Sure ya did Red, you're more of a girl then I am if you took that long."

"Oh cram it Eppy, your just jealous of just

Stepping into the middle of the group of children, the twin's father gathered them all close. He explained that he had hearthed from the carnival earlier today so that it would be easier for them all to travel, more precise then the gate itself. Before Lindsey could question the improbability of his taking all of them in a singular go, a second presence pushed up against them. In a second the world closed around them like a warm blanket; it was stiff, itchy and it seemed to be pushing Sasha towards blackout. Then just as the edges of his vision began to darken, Sasha felt a popping in his ears like when he went from flying high to coasting low.

And then there was nothing.

***

From the darkness exploded a swirl of multicolored lights, disorientation held Sasha for a moment and he nearly wanted to puke. It wasn't the first time that Sasha had experienced a reverse hearthing, but this was the most he had ever travelled with. Looking around he found that his friends were mostly in the same state of shock and confusion has he was, and then a pair of laughs broke the nausea. Sasha turned his head towards the laughter and saw the Twin's father cackling with aunt Shi, the redhead lunched himself at his aunt, nearly knocking her over into the dirt. The woman stabilized herself and ruffled Sasha's redhair against her purple oversized sweatshirt. Charis pried one of the arms off of Sasha's aunt and began to pull the whole group deeper into the carnival.

"Come on! Lets go ride the tornado!"

Lindsey looked pale, well paler then usual, "It that the one that spins round and round and you're stuck to the walls"

"Yep."

What followed from the rest of the group was a chorus of 'Oh god, this is gonna suck', 'Righteous lets do this', 'I'm gonna throw up on you, and 'if you throw up on me, I will break your face'. Luckily the threats and comments were mostly half-hearted because everyone but Lindsey climbed into to the ride looking happy as clams. The poor blonde looked as if he was ready to bolt from the ride before he was even in place. Sasha wanted to say something but no words came to mind, instead he watched as Charis wrapped her fingers around Lindsey's. That simple act of comfort did wonders for the poor boy, even though his face was still as green as his eyes; he laid down next to Charis. Even as the ride started to spin faster and faster with all their screams rising higher and higher Lindsey's hand didn't budge from the girl he loved.

The ride ended and the group stumbled free from the tornado; even they were incubi and succubi their equilibriums were just as regular as humans. Sasha looked up and found that they had stumbled away from most of the rides and into an alley of tents. Near the entrance of each was a sign that declared watch was inside; there was a freak show, the worlds smallest horse, the second largest ball on yard on the east coast, and a pair fortune tellers. As they passed the tents, Atty squealed and pointed at a square box at the end of the alley, it was a photo booth.

"We should all take a picture!"

Epica cut in, "There is no way we would all fit in the booth."

"Then we will split it up," She grinned, "Guys and girls."

Cam spoke up next and repressed a chuckle, "Well then we better get on line, look at the length of that thing."

"Hey guys," Sasha muttered feeling a prickle on the back of his neck, "I'm gonna try and find a bathroom."

"Kay we will hold a spot for you."

Barely acknowledging the last statement, Sasha when off up the alley again; the pricking sensation leading him towards the second of the tents. It was much more toned down from the first of the tellers, instead of bright vibrant colors the whole outside was black and the inside was dark blue that seemed to calm down the whole atmosphere. In the center of the room was a bare wooden table and a few candles. Sasha stepped into the dark tent and the prickling sensation vanished completely, leaving the boy alone with his thoughts. Of course he wasn't alone for long as soon as the cloth door fell into place a woman stepped in front of Sasha.

"Well hello there," The woman smiled all blue eyes and black hair, "I'm Pamela Barnes and you must be Sasha."

"How did you…"

"You step into a fortune teller's tent and you're surprised she actually has power. Boy I'm surprised at you, especially considering what you are."

Sasha stepped away from the woman, "Maybe I should be going."

"Boy if I really cared what you were it wouldn't have mattered how pretty you are. I would have dropped you to the ground dead, so sit your fine young ass down and let's get to business."

Pamela swatted Sasha's denim covered backside and pushed him towards one of the two chairs around the table.

"So would you like me to read your cards?" The teller smiled shuffling the deck of oversized cards

Sasha shrugged, "Would you still do it if I said no?"

"Honestly I'd do anything you sexy little self asked."

"Since I'm here."

"There we go"

Quickly she laid out two rows of the cards, five in each row, and in the center was one singular card. She then turned them over and after a moment her face hardened him fear and then turned to sorrow and regret. She looked at Sasha her eyes almost begging the young incubus to learn her tent and forget asking what she had read. But the redhead pressed and with a shy, the dark haired psychic spoke softly.

"This card is you, the fool; it's potential and speaks both of your personality and your actions. This top row here represents direct action that will come from an approaching event, an action you will take. This action will cause you to fall, so says the Tower card. You will lose everything in this choice but you will meet a man of power, great power one that will change the course of you life many times; the magician. Judgment, a series of great choices which you will be forced to make alone, but that will always lead to the final card, Death."

Sasha could barely speak, "And the second row?"

"Are things that will come to pass as a result of this first series."

"Read them."

"Are you sure? Sometimes it is better not to know these cards."

"Read them please."

"Okay, but remember these cards aren't as specific they will shift with you actions." Pamela grew silent and looked over the cards, "The Emperor, you will meet a man filled with enthusiasm, energy, aggression. He is direct, guileless and all too often irresistible. Unfortunately, he can also be a tyrant and be impatient, demanding, controlling. He is the leader that everyone wants to follow. The Lovers, you will find the Emperor to be who is so much a part of yourself, so perfectly attuned to you and you to them, that you cannot, dare not resist. The Chariot, it implies war, a struggle, and an eventual, hard-won victory; either over enemies, obstacles, nature, and/or the beasts inside you, or sometimes it just implies a journey in a car. The King of Pentacles, inverted, means that someone has great plans for you or against you. Which leads us to the…"

Sasha's eye grew wide as the devil card looked up at him from the table. "What does that mean?"

"It means, please leave my tent."

"But…"

Pamela rose up and screamed, "EXIT MY TENT AT ONCE!"

Sasha stumbled out of the tent, the fortune tellers' voice still ringing roughly in his ear as he fell into Epica. The blond shot him a look of annoyance and quickly dragged him to the photo booth, apparently the girls had already had there picture taken from the way Charis and Atty were pressed together. Trying not to fall over as he was shoved, Sasha found himself stumbling through the curtain and face first into Cam's lap. As if the burning of his ears wasn't bad enough, Lindsey began to laugh and could barely hold it together as he spoke about making sure that they all got a copy after the change. Just as they managed to agree, the camera's flash went off highlighting the ridiculously over-sized smiles. Not long after the picture developed, Atty was dragging the group towards another torturous carnival ride. Sasha had to admit, despite the ominous fortune tell, he couldn't think of a better way to spend their last day as kids.

* * *

_A/N: Okay so as a note I had to hunt around to make sure I got the proper cards. Those are actually interpretations of card readings. Please review.  
_

_-WordDemon_


	4. Chapter 4: The Last Supper

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Chapter 4: The Last Supper  
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* * *

Light, bright and strong, streamed down into the room; illuminating the rough wooden stairs and the barely padded floor, making the figures stir from their spots. The light cut through the darkness of the room and when it touched the six figures and they seemed to come to life. A figure stepped into the doorway and the shadow cut into the light. It was tall, angular and defiantly male; it made light steps down the stairs. Suddenly the figure from the doorway reached along the wall and flicked a switch, flooding the whole room with the harshness of florescent lighting. The well dressed figure spoke and from his place on the floor Sasha could tell it was Lindsey's grandfather, the roughness of his voice was too chipper when combined with the light; like a blade driven between the eyes

"Good morning all," He clapped his hands, "it has been a week, you're families have left clothing for you. When you are all decent we will celebrate your arrival to adulthood."

"Yay." Lindsey voice drifted groggily.

It was funny, Sasha noticed, he couldn't remember anything; not a single detail of the past week. Even now as he sat up the redhead could only really remember the final hours of the carnival, the picture, the rides, and the crappy chili dogs but other then that it is all haze. One definite thing that Sasha could pick up was the feel of the air; it was damp with sweat, musk and one other smell that the redhead could barely remember but it left a pleasant tingling in the base of his spine. Finally making it to his feet, Sasha stretched cat-like towards the ceiling and sighed with the pop of his spine. At the same time he became away of the fact that he and the whole of everyone else for that matter was naked, not that they were uncomfortable like that it was just an odd place to fine themselves.

"Here Cam let me help ya up." Again it was Lindsey's voice

The larger incubus grabbed Cam's forearm and hauled the lithe man to his feet, attempting to steady each other Cam's hand slid up to his friends shoulder. Once sure his feet would hold his own weight the bronze incubus turned toward Sasha and flashed him a smile. The way, in which the harsh light bounced off of the smaller boys smile made Sasha crumple softly, somehow through the time none of them could seem to remember Cam had finally perfected his heart-melting grin. It was bigger and brighter then anything Sasha had been flashed before, even when the pair has sneaked around slightly. Following in the wake of Lindsey's grandfather, the group's naked bodies line the stairs out of the chamber.

A white heat pulsed out from all of them; a warm comforting blaze that Sasha felt at any moment could catch fire completely. There was something magnetic about the feeling the heat gave, it wanted to draw Sasha in to Charis; her slim body twisting lazily in front of him. She rolled her hips as he climbed the stairs and instantly the redhead was glad that Lindsey was leading the pack because he couldn't help but watch. A few steps and Sasha found himself bathed in light and nearly blind in the coatroom sized closet, as he adjusted to the lighting he was aware of the close quarters that they had been given to change.

"Here's your stuff Red." Epica tossed the tunic and pants at Sasha.

Sliding the red cloth over is head Sasha grumbled a reply, "Thanks."

Atty brushed her hand on Cam's shoulder and helped straightened the boy's tunic, joking about how odd the rusty color looked on him. The bronze incubus teased back about the fact that the twins, even now were still dressed in the same clothing. Just before either of the blondes could jump him, the door opened and the sounds of a crowd rushed in. It then occurred to Sasha where they actually were, it was the Counsel Chamber; it was a lot like C-Span as far as Sasha could gather. Member of the community would come and bring forth ideas, suggestions and mostly complaints for the Counsel to rule on. That meant that today the chamber would be packed full as was the custom for greeting newly changed kin.

Knowing the protocol by heart now after several walkthroughs, the six children walked through the open passage way and on to the stage that normally only seated the seven members of the counsel. Today however the platform that normally housed the counsel member was absent and in its place was what appeared to be a great glass contraption that Sasha had never seen before. It looked a lot like a lava lamp but instead of one solid cylinder it was made of tubes and bulbs. It flowed with a pulsing green plasma that cut through the empty air and on the far side of it stood the whole of the counsel.

"Welcome all!" Aloysha's voice boomed over the crowd, "Today is a most important day; not only do we recognize the maturation of six of our kin but with this day we will see the continuation of two bloodlines cut disastrously short."

Sasha flinched and was pretty sure that Lindsey had the same reaction, it always hurt when it was mentioned but for it to be used to single them out seems cold hearted. As the oldest on the counsel and its head no one would ever say something otherwise to him. The redhead felt a pair of fingers trace the side of his leg and he smiled softly, making sure Cam could see it. Before he could gage his friend's reaction, the eldest incubi spoke again.

"So let us begin, children you will be called, anointed and then you essence will be added to the Eternal Mechanism." Aloysha stopped and turned towards the young ones. "Once added you will always be able to return here and we will know you are safe. Lindsey please come forth."

Sasha watched as the blonde incubus moved slowly across the stage towards the center and when he was right in front of the glass contraption, a shadow slipped free of the counsel members. After a second the redhead realized it was a counsel member. Draped in various black cloths, the figured slid across the stage. From underneath the black hood, Sasha could see a pair of yellow eyes looking fron within an unremarkable sable face. The redhead knew who this was, more from word of mouth then actually meeting it, this was the counsel member known as Erebes. It was rarely seen in the public world and spoken to even less often, it was the only thing that no one could seem to figure out if it was male or female. It height and broadness suggested a masculine body but the war it moved its head and limbs spoke of pure feminine.

Erebes leaned down towards Lindsey as if he whispered something in his ear, the young blonde then held out his left hands. Long black fingers gripped the young incubi's wrist, producing a long blade of sliver from the folds of its many robes. Poor Lindsey's eyes grew wide in fear of the weapon and he was forced to stifle a scream as it split open the palm of his hand. If Erebes has sympathy for the little incubus it didn't display it, he simply pushed the bleeding hand to the lowest and largest glass bulb. Sasha watched as a small bit of green plasma, the size of a golf ball, formed where lindsey's hand was pressed.

"Welcome Lindsey!" The whole crowed shouted as Lindey's and Erebes returned to there groups, but not before the clocked being handed off the blade.

Aloysha stepped forward, "Epica please come forth."

As Eppy walked to center stage, her fingers lingered for a moment in her sisters hand and Sasha swore he could taste her apprehension; thick and tart like blackberry jam. The succubae that came forward from the counsel was everything that should be considered beautiful in the world but her appearance was marred by two things. First was the way her face seemed preset to a viscous hateful scowl and the second being the small circular scar that discolored the caramel skin above her heart. Irina, rumor has it that not long after she had changed, she had fallen for a frontiers man and when she showed him her true form. It's easier to say he learned his colt dosn't kill everything; if he lives, he should make a list.

"Produce your left hand." Her voice was smooth, but barely contained her venom.

Doing as she was told, a whine slipped out of both of the twins mouths as her palm was cut. Once again when Epica's bloody was placed on the mechanism and removed, she was healed just like Lindsey and the lava lamp had another ball to add to is seemingly countless numbers. Then came the deafening roar that filled the camber.

"Welcome Epica!"

"Attoinette please come forth." The elder blond called out

Almost before Sasha could blink, the angry visage of Irina was replaced by almost its exact opposite in Seraphita. Short but incredibly busty, Sasha could help but hum and whisper to himself; Ow, she's a Brick-house, She's mighty-mighty, Just lettin' it all hang out. There was a snort off to he right and elbow that dug into his back to shut him up. Even without the musical cues, the way Seraphita's long shock pink hair continued so shift and her green eyes took in the young group seemed to continue the song. When she held the blade for view, she rolled her hips slowly turning the whole act into a highly erotic situation; bringing forth pleasure from the pain.

"Welcome Attoinette." Sasha noticed a hazy awe on Atty's face as her walked back.

"That was amazing." She whispered softly.

To which Cam's voice called back, "I knew you were a kinky bitch."

"Charismatic please come forth." The call of Aloysha covered the sounds of Cam being smacked.

Before walking the redhead murmured to herself, "Oh god."

Charis' indication wasn't remarkable, mostly because it was done by Cyzarine; the only person to truly think that basic cable was corrupting the youth of their kin. Sasha did feel a little bad for her because Cyzarine had cut deeply with the blade, so deep that there was still a thin slice, like a paper cut, when Charis walked back to them. Before Sasha could supply her with redhead love, Lindsey caught her up in his arms and stood like a shield towards the counsel. As Sasha began to speak, the words of the elder overshadowed his own.

"Sasha please come forth."

Walking across the stage, Sasha instantly became aware of the hundreds of eyes that followed him. Somewhere in the multitude he could feel the proud eyes of his Aunt Shi but they were lost under the pressure of the others. He vaguely wondered if that was what this had been like for the others, walking towards the Eternal Mechanism, although most of them had families; Sasha reminded himself to ask Lindsey if he had felt this was after the ceremony. Eyes shifting back in front of him, the red head felt a bit of a smile grace he lips as he looked at the incubus walking towards him and everything seemed to slow down like a running sequence from Baywatch.

The incubus was short, shorter then Cam if that was possible, probably even shorter then the girls but he couldn't be sure. What he was sure of was the fact that the incubus counsel member who looked younger then he did was checking him out. Devilish smile in place, the older incubus let his orange eyes to wander all over Sasha from beneath their curtain of dark violet hair. Feeling as if he missed his invitation, Sasha allowed himself to scope out the young man's body; his eyes paused for a moment as the bare skin between the top of his pants and the bottom of his tunic, the fingers of neon pink teasing at the waistband. Suddenly the incubus lifted onto his tip toes and lean against Sasha, his lips just barely grazing the redhead's ear.

"Okay hotstuff, the name is Uphori and I kinda need your hand. People are waiting." The counsel member teased.

Doing as he was told, Sasha allowed Uphori to slice open his hand, a sharp intake of air followed by the warm rush of blood. It was sticky and partly made Sasha's stomach want to turn but he held it down and as his friends had before him, he placed his bleeding palm onto the glass. Only with his hand pressed to the mechanism does Sasha understand what exactly he had been witnessing before. This contraption, this lava lamp of plasma, was absorbing a tiny bit of their essence from their blood and converting it to the raw energy; in some strange way so that part of them would always be home on the faery plain and they would always be able to find a way back to themselves. This was the core of the hearthing spell.

A great bliss rolled over the redhead as the crowed roared "Welcome Sasha!"

"Cam please come forth." Sasha could barely seem to pay attention as he best friend went through his initiation at the hands of Lesta. Unlike Erebes, whom not much was known, Lesta it was agreed upon by most of the adults that the less children were told about him the better. And more importantly the safer for everyone to just know less.

"Welcome Cam!"

With a grand flourish of his hands Aloysha silenced the entire chamber at once. It was an odd gesture to see, the elder incubus' age and overall pretentiousness seemed to make that movement outside of his ability. In the vacuum left by the absence of sound, the blonde incubi began to run through a series of words in the old tongue; it was customary to end all official meetings of the full counsel with this and he added something extra for the occasion. Of what Sasha managed to catch Aloysha had said, 'and thus we pass our judgments forward for yours is the truth; the only way' and the additional part of, 'Be protected, be prosperous, and be plentiful'. With those words silence descended into the camber again as the counsel members made there level; when they had gone the rest of the crowd clamored to life. It took only a few minutes before the group was surrounded by family and friends, like a suffocating sea of bodies.

Before another hand could grab Sasha, the young incubus found himself wrapped up in a hug, "Hello little Sash, got any love for you favorite aunt?"

"Aunt Sabine?!" Sasha muttered in disbelief

"That's right kiddo; I figured I'd snag you before you got swept away by Shi and the other adults."

Sasha turned in his aunt's grip, "You aren't coming to dinner?"

"Not invited, black sheep and all that." She pushed a newspaper wrapped box into Sasha's hand, "A gift, from an old black sheep to a future one."

As quickly as he had been embraced, Sasha found himself released and his aunt nowhere to be seen. Quickly, the redhead slipped his gift into the pocket of his pants and found himself in the group again. This time however they were no longer standing they were all migrating towards the exits, seeing as they had brought no clothing with them; Sasha was a little surprised to find his necklace in his other pocket. From the corner of his eyes Sasha could see the sideways grin and chain of necklace firmly in place. If it wasn't for being surrounded by friends and family he would drag the bronze incubus back down under stage and go at him but he restrained himself and slipped on his own necklace when he was sure no one was looking. All of a sudden a gurgle of hunger came free from all of the young ones and they grinned at each other

***

The city bustled around the group as they walked down the street, it was some major metropolis and the bright lights cast playful shadows and hues. The sounds of happy of celebrating incubi and succubae filled the air and the smells; sweat, water, bodies and even the scent of the impending snow. Sasha was suddenly aware of something as he walked along the streets; the redhead could feel a slightly tug at the back of his neck like it was falling asleep. It suddenly occurred to him that this was what Lindsey's grandfather was talking about, it was the tether to the fae plain and the moment he noticed it; it vanished.

The group suddenly turned into some nameless upscale restaurant that he was sure was going to be way over priced for something that wasn't going to taste nearly as good as the five dollar burger that he was gonna get afterward. But as the redhead went to enter the glass door a hand gripped his shoulder. The door closed and Shi turned Sasha toward her; the elder succubae ruffled the boys hair.

"So Sasha, how does it feel to be a man?" Shi asked jokingly.

"Like I felt a week ago."

"Ha ha," Fingers ran through Sasha's hair, "Do you're ready to go out into the world?"

Sasha lips pulled into a half smile, "yes I do and you said you would let me."

"I know but I'm still hoping you will reconsider."

"Aunt Shi, if I can help even one person isn't everything worth it?"

"You're the only bit of my sister I have left." The elder succubus brushed her fingers over her nephew's ear, "I just don't want to lose you."

"But I'm also the last part of my father, it's in my blood."

Shi looked her charge in the eyes, a mix of maternal love and fear washed out from her gaze in waves. Just then the waters of her emotion threatened to drown Sasha; Shi relented, pulling the red haired boy into a hug and whispering into the top of his head. "We will talk about this later; Say not a word to anyone."

An enigmatic smile played at Sasha's lips, but he nodded, it wasn't often that Shi spoke of his mother; her sister. When she would actually speak of her, Sasha always did as she asked. And they would talk about it later, when ever she managed to track him down. It wasn't that he didn't love her or that he wanted to lie to her but she would never allow him to do it if he didn't just go for it. She wanted to protect him and keep him safe; but the life of a hunter was more like throwing him to the wolves then protecting him. It was in his blood after all, that wasn't something Aunt Shi had hidden for him; she kept a few of his father's things in the hall closet. His leather jacket, his hunting journal and his belt, those were the only things of his father that he had known.

The pair entered the restaurant and instantly found the rest of the group had settled around a small round table. The waiter came and took orders all around; Sasha found himself sipping on a coke and waiting for a steak and baked potato. As an uncomfortable silence feel on the table, Sasha finally got to look around the table. It was him, Aunt Shi, the twins and their fathers, Charis, Chastity and their parents and at the far side of the table was Cam and his mother and father. Lindsey on the other had wasn't with them, Aloysha had taken the younger blonde away to some place else; not that anyone seemed to truly miss the elders joy crippling presence.

"So," Aunt Si spoke first, "this is fun."

"Oh god," One of the twins father's called, the black haired one from the carnival, "Shiarra you always did know how to make things more awkward."

"Call it a skill Montague."

Instantly, the black haired incubus pouted and Sasha was reminded of Atty, "Shi, stop calling me that!?"

"Love, come on you knew this was gonna happen when we promised ourselves to each other. I mean hell Shi and Sol called us that when we were fricken kids."

"But at least you have a badass name, Capulet. I get Montgomery or Montague, either way I'm a dusty old man." The fathers looked at each other solemnly, Montgomery obviously horrified.

"Kinky" Both Cam and the blonde, Capulet, said together.

"I'm sorry Monty." Shi apologized.

Capulet turned the conversation gracefully away from the awkward tension that was bound to build up by a stroll down memory lane. He turned to Cam's parents and launched into a new topic, while ignoring the puppy dog look from his lover. Sasha fought to suppress a chuckle, they were undeniably made for each other as far as the redhead could see and he envied them. Well not entirely envied them because he did have Cam. His perfect bronze beauty sat across the table from him but couldn't look any more uncomfortable between his parents if he tried. Of course the difference in the family's appearance must have had something to do with it. Both his mother and father were dressing in fine fabrics, each fussing with their watch or jewelry. And when the pair took a moment to pause from inspecting their appearance in a reflective surface they were lighting each others cigarettes; Virginia Slims for Cam's mother and Marlboro Green for his father.

"So Nark," Capulet asked, "Do you and Isis come here often?"

"It is Narkissos, if you please**," **Dark brown eyes turned towards the incubus and Sasha was at the tone, they weren't like Cam's humble tones, "but yes actually, Isis and I love it, we come here when we work a job."

"A job?" Capulet pressed,"What do you mean."

"You know, what is the gift we bare but sex like know own will ever believe and we offer it."

Isis interrupted, "For a price."

"Of course" Montgomery looked slightly ill.

"You have not earned the right too look down your nose at us Montague," Narkissos growled, eyes flashing red. "We are creatures are blessed with an extraordinary power. We turn human's into our play things and meals but when we offer pleasure they line right up. That is where evolution favored us over beasts like vampires, if their bite was euphoric, more vampires would be around now. Spending so many years after you changed turning tricks on various cities, taking how many dirty back ally lays? Yet you look down on Isis and me, simply because we found a way to make us richer and more well connected then you or your porno husband could ever be. Yeah that right Capulet or do you prefer Romeo Phantasm, I can't seem to recall. The only person so has any right to make a comment about us is Shiarra, you on the other hand can such your filthy mouths."

Before a silence could settle, Shi spoke in small voice but venomous voice, "I think dinner is over."

"I guess it is."

"Come on Cap, Monty, girls; lets go get a burger or two." She said with a sideways smile.

As they all turned to leave, the redhead looked back towards the table, his friend's face and eyes clouded with embarrassment and hot tears. Cam's face was turned down towards his lap, so he didn't even see the look of longing that Sasha attempted to shoot his way as comfort. The next moment he found himself walking down the street looking for a greasy dinner, ahead of him he watched as Aunt Shi went to calm down the fathers who obviously wanted to go back and beat the hell out of Sasha's father. Part of the redhead agreed with them, but a stronger part did want be part of watching Ca be hurt. It didn't matter though because a few minutes later the horrid dinner was lost to a tight pleather booth and cheap food; milkshakes and burgers all around. Hours passed and evening gave way to night before they left, satisfied and joyous, for home. The three children hearthing for the first time on their own, though it came like second nature the parents still split their hearth to insure they returned all in one piece.

Sasha half wondered if Shi expected him to just run off into the city.

* * *

_A/N: Alright, one more chapter in the prologue. I decided to not end the happiness just yet. Happy Holidays everyone. Please review.  
_

_-WordDemon_


	5. Chapter 5: Birth

_  
Chapter 5: Birth  
_

* * *

"I thought we were going to talk about this!"

"Well I'm still packing so I guess we can do both." Sasha replied softly.

The red haired incubus stood in the middle of his room, canvas duffle bag open at his feet. He was only halfway through the packing process when Aunt Shi came in to his room; Sasha had hoped to slip out into the night so that by the time she noticed he would be long gone. That unfortunately didn't work out and now she stood leaned against his far bedroom wall, fuzzy blue robe and slippers adorning her frame. Though even those childish items couldn't hold back the succubae's rage, it came threw in the crossing over her arms and the flare of her nostrils. But mostly the red head could feel the emotion so powerful it prevented Sasha from looking directly at his aunt.

"You're going to destroy your life!" Shiarra's voice hissed as she stressed her point, "The twins, Charis, Lindsey, Cam; you think that they will understand? You will become a bigger pariah over night then Sabine!"

Sasha dropped another two shirts into the duffel, "You have so little faith in my friends."

"No I have faith; I have faith that they will follow what they were taught."

"So dad was a hunter."

"Yes but they were unaware of Deklin's trade and believe me that makes all the difference in the world."

"That's bullshit!"

"Watch your mouth with me Sasha!"

Shi's eyes turned impossibly red, fangs flashing violently into existence. Her whole body seemed to swell with the momentary expression of rage but then a second later the woman deflated back to her more petite frame. One gain the woman flared her nostrils but she simply pouted softly and pulled a shirt free from the closet and folding is tenderly, fingers almost caressing the soft fabric. She dropped the light shirt into the bag and barely heard Sasha as he continued to argue. That was something that Sasha has inherited from both parents, a stubborn fighting spirit.

"It is, even when my father became an incubus; he was still a hunter."

"Yes he was until the day some hunter found out what he was, then that hunter had no problem carving him up like a butcher!"

"Shut up!" Sasha seethed, eye flashing briefly.

Shi brought her hands to her lips and gasped like a blade had slid between her ribs. Disgust and shame rose in her cheeks and eyes, she knew she couldn't take back those words and that alone twisted the knife that she had plunged into herself. When the elder succubus tried to reach out towards Sasha, her hand was shoved away and the young man pulled the last of his clothing into the over sized pack. Not speaking, he dropped the final pair of jeans into the half empty bag and closed the duffle securely. Sasha paused a moment, eyes full of pain before he slipped down the hall. Shi followed shortly behind even though she knew exactly where he was going.

The guestroom, the only room in the house that no one entered but today, the redhead was going too. Sasha shoved against the door with all his might and popped the seal, the scent of stale air and dust instantly rushed up his nose. A sneezing fit followed the opening of the door and continued for a good few minutes before Sasha managed to get a handle on them. When the young incubus finally had it all under control he wiped his eyes, surveying the room. Compared to the rest of Aunt Shi's house, this room was almost Spartan. No color on any of the walls, the windows drawn shut and a bare mattress of a twin bed lay on its metal frame. But none of that matter was important to Sasha was the items on the bed.

An aging leather bomber jacket, brown and cracking slightly; aged perfectly by his father. The fur of the lining and collar smelled of sweat and the sweet smell of a crowded bar, it was a scent that filled Sasha's chest. Slipping his arms into the sleeve, the young incubus basked in his father's prized possession. Fingers drifted over Deklin's belt as Sasha navigated the leather into the loops of his jeans and then he pick up his father's journal. It was small, the size of a bible and bound like such but its pages were ragged, random and held together with tap. As he carefully buried the journal in the confines of his duffel bag a ring full of keys fell from the jacket. Sasha eyed them curiously before returning them to the inside jacket pocket.

Before the red head could turn a pair of arms crashed around him and pulled him tightly in to a hug. Sasha can barely hear his aunt's words over the sounds of his groaning ribs. Left with no escape Sash nuzzled warmly into the hug and patted his aunt's back softly. The raven haired woman's words rumbled softly through the others body.

"Promise me this Sasha, you will stay in Seattle." Shi released, "I have an apartment there you can stay with me. Just promise me you wont suddenly vanish and I wont here from you."

"I promise Aunt Shi. Until I get the hang of it, ill stay with you in Seattle."

Shiarra teased with false humor, "You better, want me to walk you to the gate?"

"Yes please."

With his bag slug over his shoulder, Sasha stepped out into the night. Though it was in the middle of December, the midnight air was warmer then most summer days. Sighing softly, Sasha looked up into the sky and smiled. The whole sky colored a rich purple and navy clouds drifted by the pale moon. The incubus blinked and suddenly found Shi next to him, a scarf dangling delicately around her pale neck. They walked through the empty streets; it all looked like a slice of suburban pie with a splash of LSD, lawns were to green and paints were too vibrant in the darkness of night. Echo came from all sides, they bounced off the houses and even on the empty air. There was something gloriously about the sounds, it timed their movement like a swift hand of a metronome and before they realized it they were all the dais of the gate.

Shi walked right up to the shimmering lip of the gate, its light casting strange shadows across the stone. With one step forward, the blond vanished and left the poor young incubi alone on the dais. Sasha stepped up to the gate and sighed, clearing his mind of all thought. Or at least as well as he could clear his rapidly turning mind. When he managed to strip the noise away, Sasha surrounded himself in the whiteness. Aunt Shi, he brought the image of the dark haired succubus up in his mind. This was the only way he would able to get to Shi's apartment, focusing on a person rather then a location he had never been. If he didn't he might end up caught in a wall somewhere. Talking two steps back, Sasha prepared himself for the gate.

"Sasha"

A voice shouted and by the time the redhead registered the voice. Cam has him wrapped up in a kiss, hands slipping under the jacket and shirt; fingers tracing toned muscles under the skin.

"Cam?"

"I'm sorry I had to see you and you weren't at home."

"Its okay Cam," Sasha let his fingers stroke the side of Cam's face "Sorry we had to leave you with you parents."

"I understand why you did. Sash I love you."

"What?!"

"I said I think I love you." The bronze incubus wrapped himself around his friend, lips just inches apart.

Sasha broke the hold and stepped away, "I…um…Cam what are you doing here?"

"Me, I told you I was trying to see you and you weren't home. What are you doing here?"

"Going to Seattle with Shi."

"And you were going to just leave in the middle of the night."

"Shi insisted," Sasha lied, "Said it would be better for starting out in the world."

"Starting out? Why do you have to sneak off in the night if your just gonna be joining the family business."

"Because I'm joining my fathers business, that's why I'm sneaking off."

"So."

"He was a hunter Cam" Sasha whispered, barely audible.

"What?"

"I'm going to be a hunter alright!"

Cam stepped back in fear and confusion. His left forearm rose defensively as if Sasha's words were bladed. The bronze incubus tries to form words but is unable to as Sasha steps forward, the bronze incubus turned pale and shrinks away from his touch. A body plows into Sasha's right side, crumpling the boy to the ground. When he finally regains his sense of direction, Sasha looked up to find Lindsey looming over him with Cam a good distance behind. As the redhead moved to sit up Lindsey's leg kicked out and struck Sasha in the chest, knocking the wind completely out of him. The larger blond spoke, ever statement punctuated by a kick to Sasha's ribs.

"You son of a bitch! What is wrong with you! You're going to go off and hunt, like those assholes that murdered out parents!"

"You don't understand." Sasha wheezed

Cam grabbed at Lindsey, "Stop it, your hurting him."

"Ge'off me!" The blond shrugged off the smaller boy, watching as Sasha got to his feet and spat blood on to the stone of the gate. "You choose to be one of them! Too turn your back on us all!"

"My father was a hunter and an incubus!"

"But he chose to become one of us!"

The redhead turned away and stumbled towards the gate, feet not reacting as quickly as his knees. He tripped and nearly fell twice. In spite of his state of disorganization, he could feel Lindsey's attack coming. In two moves he blocked Lindsey's punch with his forearm and pulled free Aunt Sabine's gift; a black blade curved like a claw. With an arch of the redhead's arm, the blade caught Lindsey in the chest slicing clean through his shirt and just barely cutting the skin. But from the way the large blonde fell away from Sasha it was almost like he had been cut open with an iron knife. Holding his hand out away from his chest, Lindsey made sure the moon light struck his blood before he turned to Cam. When the smaller incubus saw the injury, his tan skin flushed to a sickly yellow; making his eyes appear bigger and his emotions more obvious. The fear rolled off Cam in waves, like a tsunami plowing into the shore.

"See Cam, he's already armed himself against us."

"No Cam I didn't mean…"

"He's already becoming a kin-slayer."

"I didn't mean to I swear I just was defending myself."

"He cut me Cam, what kind of friend slices open another."

"I was just reacting on instinct."

"You hear that Cam instinct, his instincts are to bring a knife against his friend."

"Cam, please, just please."

"You think he can't see the blood?"

"Cam, I…"

"He's a danger to us all, I'm just sorry we didn't see it."

"Cam…"

"Best we warn the others."

"Cam." Sasha fell silent as the bronze incubus stepped forward.

Despite the obvious fear, Cam held his shorter frame as large as he could make it. He didn't flinch as his eyes shifted to the blade held in Sasha's hand, instead he stepped closer; placing himself deep inside the redhead's grasp. He ignored Lindsey's protests that he shouldn't get close to the man who was causing him such confliction of emotions. One side of his brain told him that it was only a matter of time before Sasha would come back, armed with iron weaponry, and massacre them all in their sleep. But before that voice could even finish speaking another rose up, this was Sasha, His Sasha; the redhead that would laugh so hard that ice cream would manage to come out of his nose. This was the incubus whom Cam was falling so deeply for, Sasha wasn't a monster like those hunters he couldn't be.

Cam's hand touched his friend's cheek and relief washed over Sasha, who closed his eyes for a moment. In those few seconds that Sasha's electric blue eyes had closed, the warm hand of the bronze incubus disappeared. When Sasha opened his eyes to see what had happened he was confronted with stars and a severe pain in his jaw that all faded to black. The last thing to pass through the redhead's vision was the subtle shifting of the invisible curtain that made up the gate. The rest was darkness, complete and cold.

_'You son of a bitch'_

_'I love you'_

_'Kin-slayer'_

_'It's a Celtic love knot, Sash, and they are made in pairs.'_

_'He's a danger'_

_'Stop hurting him'_

_'You son of a bitch'_

Light flooded Sasha's mind, or at least his eyes, as the sun streamed through his bedroom window filling ever corner and hiding spot that shadows could find. The early morning sunlight washed away the nightmare that had plagued the redhead. It came back in vivid flashes; the bloody knife, the attack, the confession, the attack, Cam's right hook, the confession, Lindsey bleeding and it all seemed to flutter together without and sensible form. When Sasha would begin to establish how the events occurred the dream would break down; duplicate or delete and reform, starting the pattern fresh. Now as the nightmare no longer hunted him, Sasha sat up on a bed twice the size he remembered it and looked out the nearly floor to ceiling windows as the sleepy cityscape. The redhead sat up in bed, everything snapping suddenly together and he turned to the side and dry-heaved for a few minutes.

He settled down to the bed again, body still wrecked with nausea like he couldn't believe. After a moment he was aware of the fact that he wasn't along in the room, with a turn of his head Sasha took in the shape of his aunt. She leaned against the door, hands holding to mug of tea; their steam curling through the air. Sorrow marred her cheeks and eyes, giving Shi an age that made her look more like Sasha's mother then his sister.

"Morning." Her voice was thick.

Sasha could barely make the words he wanted, "Mornin' Aunt Shi"

"Some morning it is." The woman handed Sasha a cup, something she only did when she had something serious or bad news to talk about. "I've never seen someone become an outsider as quickly as you. Of course declaring that your father was a hunter and attacking both Cam and Lindsey didn't help. You're lucky Alyosha didn't send people after you."

"I didn't attack Cam."

"Not according to Lindsey, he told his grandfather that he tackled you because he saw you hitting Cam by the gate."

"He's lying. I assumed he was but it doesn't matter."

A man stepped into the doorway, purple hair screaming in the pale room; it was the Counsel member Uphori. The elder incubus could barely look at Sasha, not from fear but of shame, the redhead could feel that emotion fill the room as he entered. His clothing was all shimmery and mesh, reflecting the morning light all over the room. Several glow stick bracelets dangled from the incubus slim wrists, he crossed his arms over his chest. Uphori nodded at Shi, whose eyes only helped to display her shock at the man's arrival, and then the counsel member's neon eyes skimmed over the redhead barely covered by the sheet. With a lick of his lips and a shake of his vibrant hair, Uphori attempted to break the silence.

"Hey Studly, I wish I was seeing ya like this under different circumstances."

"Ditto" Sasha mouthed waking a small smirk work over the man's lips.

"So what does this mean?" Shi asked hop in her eyes,

"Well you aren't banished," Uphori attempted to smile, but it fell flat. "Aloysha needs more then just you planing on hunting and his grandsons words to set that in motion"

"Oh thank god."

"That's the good news" Sasha hissed, "Then what's the bad?"

"You're basically a pariah."

"So when I return."

"I wish I could give you an answer but I have none. I have to go and put a stop to Aloysha." With a wrinkle of the incubi's nose, the walking rave vanished.

Sasha screamed into his pillow. "This is fucking perfect."

"Sasha, I will still not tolerate that language even now."

Sasha gulped down the hot tea, he ignored the scolding crawls of the liquid as it passed his lips and down his throat. He was lost. It heart ached for comfort for the love that only Cam had been able to give. His skin missed the playful way that the smaller incubi's finger traced his flash. His nose called for the confusing smell of a fresh shower and top soil that seemed to be the boy's marker. Pain ripped up through the redhead's stomach. It bubbled like a pot of water, scolding up through his lungs and forced blinding tears to roll free. Every tear burned down the sides of Sasha's cheek, leaving behind tiny paths in his dirty face. Shi wrapped around her nephew and let the hot pain burn down into her clothes.

"There, there Sash." Shi whispered, "It's not too late, I'm sure with some pleading with the counsel. They would welcome you back."

"NO!" Sasha roared, pushing his aunt away

"What?"

"I said no, I will not bow to them."

"But you will remain an outlaw."

"I would rather do something good then be loved."

Shi hang her head low, "I understand, I don't approve but I understand."

"Thank you."

* * *

_A/N: End of Prologue. See you all in the New Year! Please review.  
_

_-WordDemon_


	6. Arc 1: Baby Steps, Chapter 1: Homework

_Arc One – Baby Steps_

_Chapter One: Homework_

* * *

A week had passed in an instant to the young incubus, without his friends and feeling apathy settle in the red haired young man slept almost constantly. When he wasn't sleeping he was laying sprawled on the eye glued on the static screen; he had given up trying to find something that didn't remind him of his friends of his Cam. The one reminder he couldn't bring himself to remove was the necklace, though its weight seemed to drag the incubus straight to the floor he couldn't seem to rid himself of it.

It was the few ties left to the boy whose last words were I love you and whose' last touch was a right hook. Even now the bruise from the punch had completely faded to his natural pale tones, compliments of his incubi blood. it was on the eight day off mopping that a stack of newspapers and his fathers journal landed on the coffee table.

"What's this?" Sasha's voice was thick and unfamiliar even to himself.

"This," Shi gestured to the pile, "Is what you wanted to do."

"What?"

"I will not allow you to simply fade away because you're depressed. You wanted to hunt, so hunt."

Sasha felt a groan begin to rise in his throat but when he saw the fierceness in his aunt's gaze it died as a whimper. Sitting up right Sasha pulled the papers towards him, for a moment he questioned where Shi had managed to get so many different newspapers; literally one from every corner of the state. Then it occurred that he probably didn't wanna know. Spreading the thin pages wide across the coffee table and quickly ripped through about five with nothing of mention.

The next two papers looked promising, both were from the same town not far from Seattle one was the regular paper and the other was the weekly special. However both papers bore nearly identical covers and headlines. The middle third of the pages was dominated by a grainy picture of a school, even through the poor quality picture Sasha could see that it was a large old building and had a certain menace to it. The headline above reads, "Still no reason for five comatose students", the young incubus had to admit it was the weakest headline he had ever read but it also caught his attention.

He began to pour through the articles: '_Last Friday several members of the football team of the Hillcrest Demons became violently ill during the game and have since slipped into a coma. Quarterback Nate Capra, Center Matt Hughes, Running back Reggie Jackson and linebackers Derek Scott and Trey Michaels', all become ill at different parts of the game. What was originally thought of as food poisoning was quickly ruled out as most of the team as well as the cheerleaders ate at Phil's Home-Style Dinner._

_By the time each ambulance arrived at the county hospital all five members of the team had gone from conscious but continually vomiting to a coma. Despite the reputation of Dr. Marsh and his staff, there is still no progress or any idea as to what really cause this horrific incident. Which nothing to go on and no signs that the illness was caused by something at the high school, the district is forced to reopen this coming Monday._'

The article went on in greater detail but Sasha was no longer was paying attention, he had grabbed his father's journal was began to rifle through the pages. He noticed it read more like a diary then he had been expecting and ever couple of pages there was the phrase "everybody gets one". He could almost remember the way his dad's voice sounded as it said the motto, his family motto, voice caught somewhere between a husky roar and a boyish laugh. Finally it seemed that he had found what he was looking for or at least a few possibilities.

From what little the papers described and the several encounters described by the journal. The first option is that it really is some nasty illness that nothing can be help, if so it's back to the drawing board to look for a new hunt. Option two is that someone from the opposing team was working some kind of a curse against them. Something to take them out of the game but went too far. Option three is what Sasha's father had labeled option 3, ghosts. A note in the journal says, when all else fails look for a ghost, there tends to be one hanging around.

"Aunt Shi!" Sasha cried, "I found something, I think?"

A reply came from the woman's study, "Oh? What did you find Sasha?"

"A couple of sick football players."

"I thought you would like that."

The incubus could feel himself blush, "Why didn't you just give me those then?"

"I just grabbed the others because I knew if I through one at you, you would just shut down on me again."

"Oh."

"So what do you need from me?" She asked as she stepped out into the hallway, a pen tucked behind her ear. The rest of her appearance echoed that of a high powered boardroom director but with the face and body that filled it. Shi looked more like one of those gag stripper-grams that you send to you uptight friends and claim it's an 'important meeting'. Sasha was shaken from the mental imagine of Shi strip-teasing some wallstreet broker when his aunt snapped her fingers in front of his eyes.

"Wha?!"

"I asked what do you need from me?"

The redhead gulped and his tongue stuck to his mouth. "A place to stay."

"Just a place to stay?"

"Yeah, of course why?"

Shi shook her head, "Sasha, you can't just go waltzing into a school especially one you aren't suppose to be at. Here I'll give them a call register them for classes."

"Oh."

Sitting silently on the couch, Sasha listened to voices filter back and forth across the hallway. The first call was a man named Floyd, Sasha could hear the familiar tones that both voices used; when their conversation ended Shin didn't even bother stopping to explain to the plan. But from what Sasha had overheard, Shi had managed to convince the man to put her "younger brother" up for a few weeks while she figures out a more permanent situation; at a reduced rate of course. Now with his aunt on the phone, the redhead really began to marvel at how easily she came up with lies and explanations. She rattled of names and dates and maiden names, when Sasha looked in the door way he found his aunt with a note book full of papers and cards of all sorts.

Aunt Shi noticed that the young incubus had entered the room as she was wrapping up the call. "Well dear I'm very happy my son will be able to have somewhere to go to school right when he gets there. Idle hands you know. "

There was a muffled laugh on the other line.

"Okay dear, well bye-bye now." With the phone in its place she spoke again,"Bet she was a chesty-blond."

"That's not nice."

"No you're right its not but still."

Sasha picked up one of the pages off Shi desk. "What is all this."

"Once Sol and Deklin knew that you where going to be born, they both wanted to do it right." Shi explained "You know they were going after the incubi version of the nuclear family or as close as they could make it. But they both wanted to make sure they got the baby thing right. So when you were born that made sure to go through all the proper channels."

"So what does that mean?"

"It means that you, Sasha Kelly, were born to Deklin and Sol Kelly on December seventeenth. In Grace County Hospital, Michigan and that everything human about you is here in this baby book. I found it in your bedroom when I when to collect your things."

"Oh." Sasha paused, unsure of what to say next. "I guess I should get going."

"Sasha, stop by Red Rose Storage before you go." Shi muttered as she pulled her nephew into a tight embrace. "It's one of you father's old storage places, but be careful I'm sure he's trapped it somehow. Crafty little Irishman."

That was their good bye, no long drawn out hug or tearful smiles just a simple word of advice. Be careful of your father's possibility crazy hunter traps. With that little exchange Sasha found himself walking down on of the long damp street, thanking whatever god controlled the weather that it wasn't actually storming. Opening himself up, Sasha let the emotions of the city crash around him; tension was the strongest one to assault him. Most people don't view being tense as an emotion of its own, normally sexual tension or frustration are considered part of other emotions like love and anger. But to him and his kin, emotion is more like going to baskin robins with the sixty-five different variation; some subtle, others gigantic. Every few minutes Sasha stopped and asked for directions towards the storage unit, it was nice to actually interact with people even if they looked at his hair like it was part of some kind of joke.

Roughly a half hour after leaving the comfort of his aunt's apartment he found himself standing outside of the red garage door of his fathers storage unit. Part Sasha was unprepared for the unfenced, unprotected area, he would have thought his dad would have been smarter then that. Turning the key in the lock the incubus felt his skin prickle with both fear and excitement as he lifted the gate, the shriek of metal on metal not nearly as bad as he expected. As he stepped into the storage room, he found himself trapped by an invisible barrier and Sasha even tried to bash his way through with his shoulder but to no end. Looking around on the ground and the walls but again found nothing. The just a glimpse out of the corner of his eye, Sasha noticed something had been painted on the back of the storage units door.

"What the hell are you?"

It was a simple black circle with a start painted inside it and a second star was painted inside the first. Overall unimpressive, what made even less sense were the random squiggles that filled the space between the larger stars points. A thought occurred and Sasha walked shoulder flush to the edge of his barrier with his eyes focused on the rim of the painted circle, after two passes Sasha was positive this was what has trapping him.

"Crafty little Irishman." Sasha whispered his aunt's words and reached to break the paint. When he found a similar barrier protecting the circle, a pout formed on the incubi's face. This was going so well, Sasha amused himself with his own thoughts; he is on his own for an hour and he end up caught in a trap. He was sure aunt Shi would be so proud of her nephew. Pausing for a moment, the red head tried to reach up again but this time his target was the door itself and when he touched it a triumphant smirk crossed his lips. "Craftier little Irishman."

So with step one out of the way Sasha began to shake the door, listening to the groan of the metal being manhandled. If it wasn't for the fact that he was in more or less broad daylight the redhead would have changed into a form more fitting of ripping the large metal door down. With a firm hold on the garage door he managed to jar the door hard enough to force one of the metal runners off of the back of the contraption, when it fell it took a section of the painted circle with it. Sure of his freedom, the incubus stepped freely into the storage unit his eyes now searching for more of those horrible little circles. According to his father's journal he needed salt and iron, the first was easy to gather and thrust into his canvas bag; the iron weapons on the other hand scared him and even standing a foot away from them his fingers never left the few vials of antidote Shi had managed to scrounge up.

'Use it wisely, only in real need or danger. Not for some paper cut' She explained.

Begrudgingly his internal voice told him he should at least bring something iron it was in the journal after all, so he did he grabbed what amounted to a round pointless fire poker. Now fully stocked the teenage boy exited the storage locker and sealed it shut reminding himself to see if there was anything in his fathers journal about what exactly that circle had been. But now wasn't the time, Sasha stripped his shirt, shoes and his fathers jacket; taking care to stow them in the bag before allowing himself to transform. His jeans tightened but didn't split and Sasha began the obnoxious task of getting his bag on his back, as well as past his wings. After a few minutes to make sure the bag was secure the incubus took flight, his sense of direction much better in the sky then on the ground. He headed west. He headed towards his new life.

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_A/N: Woot! Starting the first arch! Hope you enjoyed it! Read and Review_

_-WordDemon_


	7. Chapter 2: The Arrival

_Chapter Two: The Arrival_

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Hillcrest was for the most part flat, except for one large mountain the cast its shadow reach across the town for almost the whole day. It was a fairly sleepy town, that was for certain but even when Sasha's clawed feet he expected it to be difficult to find somewhere to hid and change back. It was barely into the evening and the streets were empty. No children laughing at play, no neighbors talking as they gathered their mail or even noising teenage drivers blaring their music for everyone to hear. All was silence. All was mourning. Duffel bag still slung over his shoulder, Sasha moved silently through the streets like a ghost that had escaped its grave. His feet didn't even echo as he moved through the town square and on to the main street, it was as if the towns sorrow was sucking the life from the world itself.

Sasha had initially been worried that he wouldn't be able to find where he was going to be staying. He had thought that hotels, motels and inns were as numerous as clouds in the sky. At least that's how most movies and shows portrayed the traveling world. Hillcrest had only one motel, Crest Falls, a five room slice of heaven and according to the proprietor was the Ritz-Carlton for drivers passing through the area. That was of course before the highway, Floyd explained as he began to hand over paperwork. Floyd was quiet the looker himself. Sasha could see why his aunt had taken him as a lover. It wasn't that he was unattractive but there was this core to him that shone with a kind of emotional beauty that was lost through the squinty eyes and too large nose. Hell even the way his over sized teeth pulled up his lips thin, his voice was excited.

"I was surprised when Shiarra said she had a younger brother."

"Were you?" Sasha couldn't help but let his eyes roam around the office.

"Yah you bet." He smiled, "I mean I figured she would have mentioned."

"That's my sister for you."

He pulled out a room key and pressed it down on the counter. "Look when you get settled, if you find yourself needing some food I want ya to go right across the street Donna will take care of ya. My wife would love to me you."

"Are you sure I wouldn't be imposing."

"Nah, not at all. Plus I betting she would be so happy to meet you."

"If you insist."

Floyd's toothy horse grin split his face again. "Oh I do."

Some of the streetlights were beginning to flicker on as Sasha stepped out into the little square parking lot. He had been placed into the number five room, farthest from Floyd and unwanted visitation. Not that the incubus didn't like the man, but he didn't want to risk the poor guy walking in when he had weapons or changing. In any sense of that statement. Sasha moved swiftly towards the bright red door with the bronzed number. In a set of three movements the door was opened, the duffel was tossed onto one of the twin beds and then the door was closed. It wasn't that Sasha was really hungry, it was more that he didn't want to curl up in some shitty motel bed and cry himself to sleep yet.

Part of him wondered for a moment if Shi ever heard him, when his emotions overwhelmed him at night. It was embarrassing falling asleep knowing that he would have to wake up to face the day without his friend. Without the person who had given him an object of affection weeks before it was allowed. Everyday the Celtic knot proved a morbid reminder of the time Sasha and Cam shared as well as the loss of anything they could have had before. But still even when it had begun to way him down, Sasha kept it now. Now he was happy he saved it. Though the lost still hurt deeply, the necklace gave him hope that maybe one day things could be fixed.

Sasha even felt hope that maybe, just maybe Cam was still wearing his.

The teenage incubus' concentration faded away as he stepped up to the houses front door. Floyd's house was much like his appearance, not overtly beautiful but having a charm and appeal what made you want to come inside. The lights were on and from the sounds, there was quiet a commotion going on inside the door. The sounds of a family existing and making dinner, he wasn't sure why but Sasha felt like he could stand outside that door forever. Something whispered in the back of his mind that if he knocked on the door, the whole scene would shatter like broken glass. With a deep sigh, Sahsa reached out with his fist before muttering softly to himself.

"Here goes nothing."

In two seconds the door was opened and a visage of beauty appeared behind the screen. She was tall and fairly curvy, with long black hair that just cascaded down around her ample bosom. A small child still clad in diapers was attached to her pant leg and looked up at the incubus. Her young eyes looked up that Sasha's hair with a massive curiosity. Her chubby finger pointed up at the young man and she uttered a single word.

"Elmo!"

"No honey," The mother whispered before turning, "I'm so sorry she been in love with Sesame Street."

Running a hand through his hair Sasha chucked, "Its alright, I'm sorry I think I have the wrong house. Floyd told me to stop over if I was hungry."

"No honey, you're in the right place."

"Really?"

"Yeah I'm Donna, this little munchkin is Liz and you must be Shiarra's little brother."

"Um..yeah, its Sasha," Sasha stepped aside as Donna opened the door, "You knew my sister?"

"Please honey, she introduced us. I love that woman."

Quickly Sasha was ushered into the house and Liz's small diapered bottom was slipped into one of those baby bouncers. It was the kind made with elastics that allowed her to bounce herself at a sickening pace. The young incubus watched the little girl and smiled down happily wiggling his fingers at her playfully. Little Liz giggled and reached her chubby fingers out towards Sasha's hair, repeating the name of the happy muppet over and over until Donna glided over, pacifier in hand. Once the little girl was silenced by the piece of plastic the busty mother led Sasha over into the small but incredibly warm kitchen. It was the heat of the oven that he noticed it was warm with love; pictures and drawing traced with the ghost of emotion. The sentimentally laid over everything like a heavy wool blanket.

"I can offer you a sandwich and a soda if you want."

"That's fine."

The mother continued fussing as if she hadn't heard Sasha, "or I could heat up some tuna casserole, would you like some of that. I couldn't get you some pie if you would like."

"Donna please the sandwich will be fine." The incubus flashed a toothy smile.

In a flurry of doors, cabinets and drawers everything began to come together on the plate. The sandwich built up quickly and began to look like something out of a commercial or an advertisement. So when the plate and glass of caramel colored soda slid in front of him. Flashing another grin and muttering a thank you Sasha wolfed down the sandwich. Still sputtering and grinning through his food, Floyd slipped in through the back door. Rising a finger to his lips he hushed the young incubi before slipping behind his wife, when he wrapped his arms around her waist Donna yelped in surprise. A response that got both baby Liz and Sasha to laugh; they laughed even harder when Donna wacked her husband over the head with her spoon.

Hours passed and Sasha had spent more time then he had originally planed. He had found himself lost in the midst of the sandwich, the loving atmosphere and even the giggles of little Liz. It was nearing nine by the time he managed to drag himself free of the family picture, of course he left several fistfuls of hair having been ripped from is skull by the adorably little girl. Liz had of course made Elmo promise that he would come visit her again. Sasha had promised and only then did little Liz let go of the incubus' leg.

As dead as the whole streets were before; the town was just as barren but that wasn't exactly true. There were the sounds of a pair of feet and the long malformed shadows that danced slowly from building to building. It moved like a dark dancer across the brick work. Its back was far too large and curved in so many different angles, like a swooping slope. The arms and legs were long and nimble, stretched out by the moon. The street lamps painted an army in sable tones for Sasha to follow. Down main street, past the strip mall and drug store, past the elementary school and deep into the center of the town. Sasha wasn't sure why he followed it but something in his gut was telling him that this would turn out to be very important.

"Hey sister." A man's voice muttered.

"You have two hours before I have to get ready for midnight mass."

"Thank you sister."

"Don't mention it Maxwell."

Sasha watched as it moved into the church and the nun followed behind. It was one of those old stone churches, the kind from back when every small town had an oversized one. The entire church was surrounded in a fence, wrought iron from the appearance. Within the stone courtyard was a statue of the virgin mother, the child was long since removed from the marble form; where it would have been along her arm and chest was rough. The rocks surface was covered in rough edges and craters that marred the statues beauty and it some strange way its meaning. Sasha let his fingers trace the statue's waist before he walked towards the door. It was heavy and old; the young incubus prayed silently that the church was well maintained so that he could at least open the door without being detected.

His silent wish was answered, the hinges moved without a sound.

Once inside Sasha wasn't sure how he was going to hit considering that the church's interior was really an empty vaulted box filled with pews. It wasn't going to take much more then the man hunched near the pulpit turning around and he would be spotted. Slipping to one of the darker corners of the church, Sasha settled down and kneeled, nose and eyes peering daggers at the man's back. There was a snap, at first the incubus' mind flipped to a gun being cocked but it wasn't that; there were two snaps just barely overlapped. Most people wouldn't pick up on it, but then again most people aren't a freshly fed incubus.

The man rose and a set of shoulder length hair fell around the collar of his jacket. Even from behind, Sasha could see that the man had taken a guitar; the man plucked a few cords nervously. He kneeled as well, adjusting the strings until he seem satisfied with the sound that came out. Suddenly he stood and turned, shaggy bangs falling across his face has he let the bass line walk slowly. After a minute the tune shifted to something familiar and a voice rose up softly to fill the church.

_'Very superstitious, writing's on the wall,_  
_Very superstitious, ladders bout' to fall,_  
_Thirteen month old baby, broke the lookin' glass_  
_Seven years of bad luck, the good things in your past.'_

The man began to sway and rock slightly has he pounded out the song, Sasha could swear he heard a whole band. His voice had grown and swollen large with the rush of the song, was hard to blame him because he was obviously enjoying it. This was the most joyful sound the incubus had heard in the town since he arrived, not counting the baby Liz's laugh of course.

_'Ooh When you believe in things that you don't understand,_  
_Then you suffer,_  
_Superstition ain't the way'_

There was a draw, Sasha could feel it like someone had thread a rope right though his middle. He wanted to start singing, to join the man up in the front of the church. Sasha wanted to sing with him and it seemed to take a great amount of strength for him not to burst into the song.

_Very superstitious, wash your face and hands,_  
_Rid me of the problem, do all that you can,_  
_Keep me in a daydream, keep me goin' strong,_  
_You don't wanna save me, sad is my song._

_'When you believe in things that you don't understand,_  
_Then you suffer,_  
_Superstition ain't the way, yeh, yeh.'_

Sasha smiled the man was in love with performing and it was easy to see why he had picked the church now, its acoustics were perfect for his instrument. They let him draw everything in to him and pushed all other sound away. So much so that he didn't notice the nun until she walked past him down the isle.

_'Very superstitious, nothin' more to say,_  
_Very superstitious, the devil's on his way,_  
_Thirteen month old baby, broke the lookin' glass,_  
_Seven years of bad luck, good things in your past'_

_'When you believe in things that you don't understand,_  
_Then you suffer,'_

With one cough the sister interrupted the song, cutting it off the song. The man's confidence evaporated almost instantly, his shoulders feel and he could barely meet the nuns gaze as he began to pack the guitar back into its case. She looked like a tall aging penguin, with her crisp gaze.

"I'm sorry you must go." Her gaze turned towards Sasha, "both of you."

In one soft movement Sasha caught the gaze of one eye. Thought he couldn't tell the color, the way the candle light reflected made it obvious that the man was looking at young incubus. Blood quickly worked up his neck, through to the tips of his ears. The man walked walked past the sister and along the corridor, his face was slung low.

The power was gone from his voice as he spoke the last words. "Superstition ain't the way, no, no, no."

The young incubus felt his face burn and he rushed out of the church, embarrassment somehow thrust on him by the nun. He imagined that this feeling was somehow related to the feelings that a human would get when they were caught masturbating. It wasn't that incubi and succubae didn't rub one out; it was more that it didn't carry the same social stigmata that it did for humans. The emptiness of the town passed by unnoticed. Sasha could barely recall the walk from the church to the door of his motel. Hell he could barely figure out what happened after the song, all he knew was there was something off about that man at the church. He couldn't place his figure on it but something deep in him told him that he would have to find that man again before all this could get resolved. The last thing that really floated into Sasha's drowsy and confuses mind was the singing voice of the mystery man, Maxwell.

_"Seven years of bad luck, good things in your past."_

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_A/N: So i been busy with my own writing (both personal and fanfiction) but this story needs loving to. Please read and review.  
_

_-WordDemon  
_


	8. Chapter 3: Sour Truths

_Chapter Three: Sour Truths_

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_Sasha's sleep was a restless, fickle one.

The nightmares followed him from Seattle were assuring him that they were in for the long haul. The first one of the night was vague more like a waking vision then an actual nightmare but it still clung to him like tar the next morning. All he could remember was blood and screams after that nothing but the sounds of crying. His second nightmare transitioned from the first. It carried over the sobs from the prior dream, the landscape unfurled around him and instantly he recognized where he was. The field didn't have any name, at least not one that was commonly known but even then Sasha could recognize it. This was where Cam and he had flown together before the change, the grass was long which meant that it was in the fall but that wasn't what really brought the fear into the young incubus' heart.

The sky was black, starless and a void, it's only light was from a crimson moon that lifted slowly into the sky; a great macabre eye watching over the field with morbid fascination. The sobs returned again. They were louder, more distinct. Like something was clawing at its throat from the inside out. The grass was stained by the from the bloody moon it's gaze splashing gruesome color every where. The great parted slowly like the opening of the red sea giving Sasha a path towards the sobs. There he was tan body stripped bare under the blood moon.

"Cam?"

Sasha's voice sounded strange even to himself and he reached out for his friend. But the boy screamed in pain and lifted into the air. In one second the body turned around and Sasha tried not to scream. It was like someone had taken a dull knife and carved out everything below Cam's ribs, the scream silenced and instead of looking down at Sasha with a pair of dead lifeless eyes. A pair of red on black ones glint above a wicked smile.

Then everything burns.

Sasha shoots up in bed, sweet soaking his sheets through. In his stressed state, the red head had lost control over his glamor which caused him to become deeply tangled in the bedsheets. Peeling the soaking wet sheets from his shoulders and chest the young incubus was careful not to rip them to ribbons as he tossed them into the corner. Staying in his bare form, Sasha walked slowly to the motel room's lackluster bathroom. Upon actually stepping into the bathroom for the first time the incubus had to take a moment to adjust to the insanity of the decor.

The walls were covered in black and pink paisley wallpaper; the tiles of both the floor and shower repeated that color scheme. The bathmat and the toilet seat color were a faded pink with shaggy fibers. Sasha wondered for a moment which of the love birds had been responsible for the color choice and if it was the same in every room. If he was going to be honest with himself, he was gonna have to pick Donna because he couldn't see Floyd picking anything but plaid and deer heads. Chuckling to himself Sasha hoping into the freezing water hoping that it would scourge of the nightmare as well as the sweat.

After finishing a shower so cold Forsty's snowballs would have shrank right off. the young incubus pulled on his clothes and attempted to make his hair have some semblance of a style. When that failed Sasha raked his fingers through it three times and got something the the effect of being well dressed. Flashing a smile the red haired incubus sauntered out the front door and gave a none committal wave toward Floyd. Just before the older man disappeared into the main office Sasha remembered he needed a bit of information.

"Floyd!"

The man popped his head back outside, "Yes'em?"

"I was wondering, which way is it too the school."

"Damn boy your sister really didn't tell you anything." Floyd chucked as he stepped fully out of the office.

"Yeah that's Shi, figured I'm smart enough too figure it out.

"Shows what she knows."

Sasha couldn't help but flinch at the statement, he knew that Floyd had meant it as a joke but he was also sure that that statement had been though about on the other side. That somehow Shi had done a horrible job of raising him. or worse that because of his genetics it was only a matter of time. that Shi shouldn't feel bad at least he couldn't poison the rest of them anymore. The young incubus felt his body shake with anger and he tried to calm himself down, knowing that he couldn't afford to change in broad day light. Floyd must have picked up on the redheads uneasiness.

"You alright?"

Sasha nodded and faked a smile, "Yah just a little tired is all."

"Well if you wanna get to the school, I don't mind driving you."

"No thanks Floyd," Sasha could feel the sincerity, "just point me in the right direction."

"Sure just take a left at the first intersection and keep going."

"Thats it?" the young incubus scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah you cant miss it."

Suddenly the redhead was happy that he hadn't taken up the offer because as he moved through the streets it became fairly obvious that very little of the school was driven to school. In fact as Sasha stepped onto school grounds he saw only five big yellow buses and considering the size of the gray stone building, it didn't seem likely that many people arrived that way either. Opening himself up slightly, Sasha allowed the emotions of the masses funneling into the building to wash over him. There were bursts of infatuation and passion but the over riding emotion was fear. Total fear, depression and worry. It was all over the building like a layer of dust. The young incubus couldn't help but gulp as he passed under the front door's archway.

Swinging a left inside the doorway, Sasha stepped out of the noisy hallways and into the relative calm of the main office. It was a large open area more like a librarians' desk then anything else with four woman sitting behind it. As he walked toward them, one of the woman rose from their seat and came over to greet him. Somewhere in the back of his mind he made a note to himself to apologize to Aunt Shi. The woman was relatively unimpressive expect for her platinum blond hair and a rack that would be more at home in Pamela Anderson's swimsuit then in a highschool. But as he smiled brightly, Sasha bit his tongue to keep his words behind his teeth.

"I there, can i help you?"

"My name is Sasha Kelly, i'm a new student here."

"Oh yes, Mr. Kelly." She smiled and started collecting paperwork, "We've been expecting you, if you dont mind waiting we can have someone show you around the school after homeroom."

"That's fine."

The incubus turned away and leaned against the desk, eyes moving over the relatively empty office. The rushing sounds of the entering students had long since dissipated to a hum that seemed to come from the very school itself, like it was one large purring animal. Sasha eyes settled across the room on a collection of paper and tiny trinkets, all of which surrounded pictures. Sasha knew what this was, a kind of memorial of mourning and he felt it pluck at it heart because in some cases the young man swore he could feel that pain that came from them. The need to make things make sense again.

The first picture was of a big bruiser of a man, dark brown hair and a thick goatee. The young man's neck was looking as if it was about to burst free from his suit collar. the name underneath declared him Matt Hughes, the center.

Next to Matt Hughes' picture was the running back, Reggie Jackson, with coffee-colored skin and smaller angular feature portrayed a strong sense of grace. Sasha was willing to guess that Reggie was a flirt and a heartthrob from the sheer number of pictures and papers that had been stuck around his picture._  
_

The linebackers Derek Scott and Trey Michaels passed over the young incubus gaze with little recognition, both had brown hair and dull eyes.

The final picture nearly knocked Sasha flat on his ass, the man that stared back at him from the picture recalled so many memories. Their was an eerie similarity to Cam, it wasn't something physical as much as the way his eyes seemed to push out from the flat image. Nate Capra, had short cropped hair and an olive tone to his skin. Sunkissed that what the man was. Was the only real way to describe him.

"Sasha Kelly?" a voice said beside him, startling the young incubus.

The young man turned from the picture and nearly shouted when he took in who had spoke. It was like the man from the picture had stepped right off the page except there two thing off about that idea. One was the dark hair that had been close cropped in the photograph was long and shaggy with bangs that obscured part of his face. The other was the eye, where the images' eyes were a cold and hard blue this man's gaze was soft but penetrating. A loop-sided smile played on the young mans face as if he knew exactly what the incubus was thinking.

"That's my brother, I'm Max." He smiled and held out his hand, "Max Capra."

The redhead grabbed the hand, still dumbfounded, "You guys look so much a like."

"Twins, he's my older brother by three minutes and twenty seconds."

"Sorry you guys must get that a lot." Sasha joked.

The young man's cheery expression fell, "Not as often as you would think."

Smooth Sasha, the incubus chastised himself, this wasn't exactly a good way to start communicating with someone. Especially the relative of one of the victims, he needed to comfort and question. When Sasha finally managed to look back up, Max had cleared most of his emotion right off of his face. Back was his smile but it was false. The man held open the door and slowly began the tour. He took him through the separate wings of the school explaining how each area focused on a different student; math, science, history, the art and gym. On several occations throughout the tour Sasha noticed that the other had loosed up and the incubus had even caught Max giving him curious sideways glances. As they reached the office the two boys stopped and Max handed over a slip of paper.

"You're classes."

"Thank max."

"Hey Sasha," Max shuffled his feet against the floor, "I was wondering, I mean I know its your first day and all but I need to get out of here. It reminds me too much of my brother, i was wondering if you would want to ditch with me."

The incubus chuckled, "Sure, what did you have in mind."

"Just follow me."

The two boys slipped out of the school with minimal effort and moved across the grounds as quickly as they could but as they crossed the street, all of the sidewalk sprinklers timed on. Even thought instinct told them to run to avoid getting too wet by the time they escaped they had each been soaked too the bone. Sasha fought to repress a growl he was sick of having items of cloth sticking too him. Although he did have to admit it had a desired effect on Max, the stocky athletic frame that had gifted his bother was obviously shared by him. But Max was hiding it, the thought moved through his head slowly. Was he ashamed of it? Before Sasha could say anything, Max tugged on his arm and lead him up a different street.

"Come on, my house is this way."

Sasha was sure how exactly they had managed to get to Max's home, but why the time the stumbled in both boys teeth were clashing against each other violently. Max said something about getting a towel and some change of clothing to which Sasha just nodded softly. As he stood waiting he stripped off the sopping wet t-shirt and kick of his shoes with a disgusting squelching noise. When Max came back to find his guest he was dressed in just a pair of warm boxers and a lopsided smile with a towel over one shoulder. Sasha took the towel and the extra boxers but really he took this moment to look at Max.

He was tall and broadly built but even in his own home had had this undeniable skittishness, it reminded Sasha of an Ox or a Clydesdale or some other hooved beast of burden. Before Sasha could laugh, max returned with a glass lightly amber colored liquid. Even from this distant it smell good, the young incubus gladly accepted the drink with a smile. Max returned the grin with his lopsided one yet again.

"Here try this it will warm ya up right."

Sasha sipped the girl and sighed softly as the tastes moved over his tongue. There was the warm slightly sour burn of the alcohol but as it rested in his stomach it did warm him, but that was really caught his attention. It was the play of sugar against lemon in his mouth with the little sneaking taste of cherry. The incubus made a popping sound with his mouth before turning to his host with an incredulous look.

"How do you know how to make this?"

Max closed his eyes and spoke slowly and controlled, "My mom's a drunk, not a like slur her words drunk. More like a wake up in her own sick drunk."

"I'm sorry"

"it not your fault, only thing about it was i was basically a practiced bartender by the time i wan six."

The young incubus hung his head, instantly "Man that's fucked up."

"Yeah it is," Max said soberly before perking up, "this is actually my own twist on a whiskey sour."

Time passed in a flurry of hours and more drinks, pretty soon both boys where drunk and had been nursing their most recent drinks much more slowly. They had talked about family and Max had been curious about where Sasha had come from before. The incubus hated to lie so he attempted a half truth about from being far away but had to leave because of family drama. Obviously it had worked because Max has only nodded knowingly, the redhead hadn't meant to spy on the others feelings but with the booze in his system it was much hard for him to keep himself out of Max's head. Confusion and attraction and depression mingled back and forth over the poor guy, until his eyes lit up with a devilish glint

"I got an idea."

"What?"

"Truth or Dare." Max smiled.

Sasha couldn't help but laugh. "Truth."

"What's your natural hair color?"

"This is my natural hair color."

Max coughed on his sip, "Liar, prove it."

Sasha stood up and wiggled his eyebrows as he rolled the waistband of his borrowed boxers down. at first Sasha watched as Max's eyes moved quickly over the markings, trying to figure of how far down they went. Then the other boys jaw dropped as he caught sight of the same brilliant red that sat on Sasha's head. Pleases with himself the incubus sat back down and smiled before speaking.

"My turn, truth of dare."

"T-truth." Max stuttered.

"I got to assume with you being as big as you are that you play football, can you think of any reason why your brother got sick and not you?"

A blush worked across the others tan neck, "Well actually i dont play football."

"Why the hell not?"

"Honestly because I'm a freak."

Sasha chuckled, "Some how I really doubt that."

"I am!" Max whined, "Please just."

"Prove it."

What happened next could be blamed on so many things. It could have been the copious amounts of booze, it could be the waves of confused attraction that were coming off of Max, or it could have been Sasha's need for proof. What ever caused it, Sasha was not ready to find himself pinned down against the couch by the weight of Max straddling his hips. He wasn't ready for the sloppy way that the larger teen's hands tried to snake around the incubus' neck. And he most certainly wasn't ready for the quick retraction of Max's lips from hims; before Sasha could recapture them or moan in protest the boy had moved from his seat across Sasha's hips and walked into the kitchen. The sound of sobs quickly followed.

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_A/N: Yay this story isn't dead lo._

_- WordDemon  
_


	9. Chapter 4: The Twilight End Zone

_Chapter Four: The Twilight End Zone_

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"What are you doing Sasha?"

"Oh nothing." The incubus mocked himself

"Really?"

Sasha switched his tone to light an playful, "Of course are you talking about the fact that I'm out here freezing my ass off on the word of a semi drunk man."

"You're the one that wanted in on the family business."

"Oh fuck off." the red head stuck out his tongue to the night.

"This is fucking stupid." The young man muttered to himself. "And I'm talking to myself."

Sasha stood at the edge of the football field, the moon light shining brighter and casting his shadow out behind him like a long black ribbon. He felt increasingly stupid as he stood out in the cold autumn air. Max had been less then helpful after his break down. When the incubus had managed to actually calm him down he had found out somethings about the town and more specifically about the football team. The town typically had a relatively good team, nothing spectacular but enough to keep the fans excited every season. It seemed that the whole town centered around football and probably would have been right at home in Texas; for more then one reason. The town had a little bit of a small minded way about certain things. the way that Max had trailed off from the explanation let the red haired teen know exactly how he was a freak.

"Being gay here isn't what exactly apple pie with a lot of folks," Max had told him just before Sasha left him alone, the words made the pit of his stomach drop out, "So there is a story that gets passed around the high school. Bout some poor guy that got fag bashed daily and then one day he just vanished. Everyone in town knew he got killed but nobody did anything about it, there wasn't even an investigation. Nice right? Don't be gay or you could vanish like Jimmy "

It was disgusting for the young incubus to think that people actually could hate a person based one who they loved. That defined every fiber of his being especially because to him gender was completely unimportant. What mattered was the love and person and how you could make the other person feel. To be able kill someone over who they love and then have the whole town cover it up. It made Sasha sick but it also gave him an idea as to what had made the football players. Maybe it was a ghost, now he just had to find the hypothetical body and figure out how to get rid of the ghost. No problem right. Except he had no idea where to begin looking.

Football was the center of the town and it was probably the football team that had done the bashing.

So maybe the ghost was doing a little bashing of its own.

From beyond the grave, the incubus could actually hear the twilight zone music playing in his head. The familiar do-do-doed. But if Sash was going to be honest, that was the most likely choice at least as a starting point, Occam's razor and all that. Football team potential bashed a gay man to death, so it would stand to reason that his ghost would want a little payback. What better way to take revenge then to take the strength of the players who would use it to hurt others.

Which is what brought Sasha to the field.

All of the football players sickness started here on the field so it seemed like the perfect place to start, plus it was the only real land around the town were no one would think to hide a body because football was the towns religion then the field would be its temple. As the incubus stepped out onto the field and a rush of energy crashed through his veins, the whole place was a nest of adrenaline and violent passion. The moved around like a lava lamp, over and under and around each other but never really co-mingling. But there was something else that filtered through the crowd of passion, it was the black and red tint of both malice and hate. Old emotions. But they were there deep in the core. As suddenly as the feelings flooded his senses they seemed to all wash back out of Sasha as if the emotions were aware that he could actually feel them.

Sasha turned to make sure no one was around before he spoke.

"Hello?"

A soft cold gust like breath on the back of his neck startled the incubus.

"I'm trying to speak to the ghost?"

There was another rush of air but this time it felt like fingers along Sasha's arm.

"I am trying to communicate with the spirits from beyond." The incubus chuckled and threw in a soft accent to mimic Miss. Cleo, "I don't know where, I don't know when but something awful is going to happen. And don't marry that fat man he only wants you for your money girl."

The air had grown still, silence stretched across the whole field and beyond, whatever Sasha had been talking to was obviously not amused with the joke. A short series of gusts did rush through the field like the air was snickering at him. Mocking him. The incubus snarled softly on his next words.

"Everybody's a critic."

Sasha could tell there was something here watching him, something tied to the field, this was something's home and it's crypt. It seemed to be playing with him; acknowledging him as it was acknowledged but never actually being seen. The incubus knew that he had to see it or else he would be unable to fight it. the grass was in need of cutting and it swirled lightly like someone was dancing barefoot around him. Sasha could even swore he heard the light sound of someone squealing in euphoric laughter. The invisible force rushed forward and knocked the unprepared young man off of his balance; it repeated the action and the incubus realized he was dancing with it. Then suddenly as quickly as it started the force and the wind vanished leaving Sash alone on the field again. What had made it attack?

The violence of the game?

It had died in violence after all hadn't it?

No that was stupid.

The hate?

Of course, why had he died?

Because of some closed minded bigots so didn't like who he loved.

The hate had to be the trigger.

That would make sense, it would explain the emotional scar on the field. If it was hate that brought it here and kept it here, then maybe some hate would make it show itself. Sasha knew he was going to hate himself after saying this, after all the word felt sick in his mind. Like someone had taken a hose from a diesel engine exhaust and put it straight into his brain. Pumping deadly grayish gas into his skull. It was a poisonous word and the incubus once again thought it was a stupid idea. But still there had to be a way to get this thing to show itself and if there was then this would be the way.

"Fag"

The air bristled hard at the word but nothing else happened. Annoyed the incubus knew he was onto something but didn't like the idea of having to say it again. It was already bad enough he said it once. Preparing himself, Sasha pulled in as much air as he could before shouting at the top of his lungs. His eyes flashing as he threw a little bit of extra incubus in for power.

"FAGGOT!"

The foul word made Sasha want to rinse out his mouth after saying it.

It was like gargling dog vomit but like the incubus had figured the hateful slur had caused a reaction form whatever had been playing with him. Although now the playing was over, it was striking how one word could be so powerful. But it was.

The effect was instantaneous.

And deadly.

Wind grew claws and teeth, snapping at Sasha's clothing and hair. It tore violently along the grass, sending a smattering of grass and dirt up into the air. The red haired incubus knew at once that he had stepped too far over the line and now this thing, whatever it was, was pissed. Sasha had been so focused on the minor carnage being created by the wind that he was practically dead to everything going on around him. So much so that he didn't notice the fact that the yellow field goal behind him was shaking like a leaf. Because the poor young man didn't see the thirty feet of quivering metal behind him, he wasn't able to move out of the way as it came crashing down on his head. Starts flashed in front of Sasha's eyes and at first all he saw was black.

Then white

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_A/N: I'm sorry for those that read this. I'm going to try and update more often. My bad. Yes its short because stupid FFN wont let me put empty space into the sorry and I don't wanna use crap tons of pages lines.  
_

_~ WordDemon_


	10. Chapter 5: Hazy Head, Hazy Heart

_Chapter Five: Hazy Head, Hazy Heart  
_

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"Oh god."

The panicky timber of the voice called Sasha back to himself long enough for his eyes to flutter open. The goal post had been moved off of him and now he was laying on his back, somewhere in the back of his mind the teenage incubus was cursing about how you shouldn't move someone with a potential neck injury. Before he could groan out his complaint he caught sight of his savior. Shaggy brown hair and a guitar case strapped firmly to his back, amber colored eyes looking down at him with concern. The name floated just beyond the haze of Sasha's mind, every time he reached for it it slipped away.

Finally he managed to recall it.

It's him.

"Max?"

With that one groggy word out the incubus was gone again.

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_A/N: Once again I'm sorry for those that read this. Stupid FFN wont let me put empty space into the sorry. An actual chapter may arrive relatively soon.  
_

_~ WordDemon_


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